EU to slap Microsoft for second antitrust abuse
The European Union plans to file a second formal charge against Microsoft accusing the US operating system developer of violating a 2004 antitrust ruling, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) wire service reported Thursday.
Sources have told the AFP that the EU's Competition Commission will soon file a "statement of objections" claiming that Microsoft is charging too much for protocol licenses that the EU has ruled competitors need in order to develop interoperable software.
By the terms of the 2004 ruling - in which Microsoft was fined a record 497 euros (US$639 million) - it was required to ensure that the information necessary for interoperability was "accessible to third parties under reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions."
