EU court upholds Microsoft antitrust fine
June 27, 2012 12:05 pm
By Alex Barker in Brussels
Microsoft suffered another
defeat at the hands of the European Commission, after failing to overturn a
hefty fine in a court battle that is likely to draw the curtain on an antitrust
feud lasting more than a decade.
While the EU’s
second-highest court on Wednesday shaved 4 per cent from Microsoft’s €899m fine
to €860, it threw out the US technology group’s main arguments to annul the
first Brussels penalty levied on a company for non-compliance.
The decision is an
important victory for Europe’s highest competition authority and bolsters its
powers to impose painful financial penalties on companies that refuse to
implement its antitrust decisions.
One of the biggest ever EU
fines was levied on Microsoft in 2008 after the software group failed to comply
with a Brussels order to share data with rivals on reasonable terms. Microsoft
offered the data but at a price the commission found excessive.
Joaquin Almunia, the EU’s
antitrust chief, said the judgment “fully vindicates the enforcement action
that the commission took to ensure Microsoft’s compliance with its
obligations”.
Microsoft said it was
“disappointed with the court’s ruling” in spite of the fine being “slightly
reduced”. The group, which fought a bitter and lengthy battle with the
commission, did not say whether it would appeal.
The Luxembourg-based EU
general court said it “essentially upholds the commission’s decision” but
marginally reduced the fine after taking issue with part of the commission’s
calculation.
While Microsoft once
revelled in its reputation as antagonist-in-chief of the commission, its
relations with Brussels have transformed in the years since its 2009
settlement.
In 2004 when Brussels
initially imposed a record fine of €497m on Microsoft, the group’s software ran
some 95 per cent of personal computers. Now the US group is a complainant
seeking the help of the commission in clipping the wings of its high-flying
rivals, such as Google.
Microsoft is the only
company to have been fined for failing to obey a commission decision, making
the appeal a test case of Brussels’ ability to police its decisions and punish
noncompliance.
Michael Reynolds, a
partner at Allen & Overy who advised one of the original complainants
against Microsoft, said the court ruling “significantly reinforces the
enforcement powers of the commission and vindicates the tough stance taken by
Neelie Kroes [the then competition commissioner]”.
Copyright The Financial
Times Limited 2012
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