Microsoft bids to avoid more EU antitrust fines with new filing News
Microsoft bids to avoid more EU antitrust fines with new filing

[JURIST] The European Commission [official website] announced [press release] Thursday that Microsoft [corporate website; JURIST news archive] had filed new technical documentation with it in a last-minute bid to comply with a March 2004 Commission antitrust ruling [text, PDF; background materials] ordering it to disclose information allowing non-Microsoft servers to achieve full interoperability with Windows PCs and servers. The Commission has called for third-party submissions on the filing, so it is not yet known whether it will suffice. Microsoft had originally been directed to provide the documentation within four months of the 2004 ruling, but sought an extension that was denied and then failed to meet other deadlines, leading to the Commission's July 2006 imposition of a $357 million penalty [JURIST report], currently under appeal [JURIST report]. Microsoft made its first filing within days of that the latest filing was a further revision. Reuters has more.

EU regulators said last week that Microsoft had handed over only 90 percent of the necessary documentation [JURIST report] and could face added fines of up to $3.85 million per day unless the company complied by November 23.