Lobbyists for the computer industry insisted on Sunday that a European Union decision finding Microsoft guilty of anti-competitive behaviour must stand, ahead of an expected appeal by the United States software giant.
The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) said the March ruling by the European Commission was fair.
”Contary to Microsoft’s mischaracterisation of it, the European Commission’s… decision constitutes a very narrow, solid finding of infringement,” it said in a statement.
Microsoft is expected to appeal this week to the European Court of Justice after the EU competition watchdog fined the company a record 497-million euros ($610-million) and ordered changes to its Windows operating system.
After a five-year investigation, the European Commission ruled that the world’s biggest software company was guilty of illegally stifling competitors in the markets for media player programs and low-end servers.
The Seattle-based company, denying that it abuses its overwhelming dominance to crush rivals, said it would ask the EU court to suspend the sanctions pending a ruling to its appeal, which could take up to five years.
But the CCIA, which was heavily involved in convincing the European Commission to rule against Microsoft, insisted the case was only bad news for Microsoft and had few wider implications.
”Companies without near-monopoly shares in non-network industries need not be alarmed at all: for them it is business as usual,” it said. ”Such companies can only benefit from increased competition for software they use on a daily basis.” – Sapa-AFP