South Korean regulators ruled on Wednesday that United States software giant Microsoft abused its market dominance and violated fair trade rules, fining the firm 33-billion won ($32-million).
Microsoft, which denies any wrongdoing, was also ordered to remove parts of bundled software from its Windows operating system, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said.
Microsoft has insisted that users of its Windows XP platform have the option to use the instant messenger system as installed or not.
However, the FTC said the US company had violated rules on fair competition and ordered Microsoft to separate its instant messenger and Media Server programs from its Windows operating system.
”Microsoft’s bundling practices limited fair market competition, with its monopolisation hurting the interest of consumers,” FTC chief Kang Chul-Kyu told reporters.
He said Microsoft should split its Media Server software from Windows within 180 days.
Microsoft was also ordered to sell two versions of its Windows operating system — one without the Media Player and MSN messenger programs, and another bundled with the two programs, he said.
The order, based on advice from foreign experts, will last over 10 years.
”We hope Microsoft will be aware of its responsibility as the world’s largest software company and make efforts to ease the inconvenience and dissatisfaction of its clients,” Kang said.
The commission’s move is aimed at acclerating competion in the domestic software industry, Kang said.
The order came after an almost four-year dispute between Microsoft and South Korean firms.
Microsoft has spent billions of dollars to settle a string of disputes brought by major rivals including IBM and Sun Microsystems in the United States, South Korea and the European Union.
In October, the firm agreed to pay $761-million to RealNetworks, a US firm marketing the ”RealPlayer” audio-visual software.
The US company also sealed a $30-million deal with South Korean internet portal Daum Communications last month.
That deal ended a legal battle with Daum which had accused Microsoft of violating anti-trust rules by unfairly incorporating its MSN instant messaging software into the Windows system.
That settlement did not affect the FTC’s ruling on abuse of its monopoly.
The European Commission has already ruled that the US company should sell its Windows system without its Media Player software to ensure fair competition with European rivals.
Microsoft has appealed the EU ruling. – AFP