EU threatens more Microsoft fines if antitrust ruling not obeyed soon News
EU threatens more Microsoft fines if antitrust ruling not obeyed soon

[JURIST] Microsoft [corporate website; JURIST news archive] has handed over only 90 percent of the necessary documentation to comply with a 2004 European Union antitrust ruling [PDF text; JURIST report] and may face added fines [EU press release] unless the company complies by November 23, European Union regulators said Wednesday. The 2004 order required Microsoft to provide technical information that competitors need to develop software compatible with the Windows operating system, and the European Commission [official website] already imposed a $357 million fine [JURIST report] on Microsoft in July for not complying with the ruling. The Commission warned in July that Microsoft may face fines of up to $2.5 million per day for not giving competitors the necessary information and added Wednesday that the daily fines may increase to $3.85 million per day if Microsoft continues to disobey the order, calculating the fines from the date of the July ruling.

The $357 million fine imposed in July was in addition to the initial $613 million penalty levied by the Commission in 2004. In October, Microsoft filed an appeal [JURIST report] with the European Court of First Instance [official website], challenging the July and 2004 rulings. Microsoft based its appeal on the magnitude of the fine, noting the "lack of clarity in the Commission's original decision" and Microsoft's "good-faith efforts" to comply with the order. AP has more.