EU DRM rulings and Microsoft
A decision by the EU’s second-highest court on the 2004 ruling is not
due for months, and could still be appealed to the European Court of
Justice — dragging out the clash of computer science and competition law
for years to come.
The case will likely set a precedent for the fast-moving technology
sector. Microsoft is already anxious about EU limits on future products,
asking Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes to set out any potential
problems with its upcoming Vista operating system. For the Commission,
its reputation as a regulator ready to punish abuses after careful
investigation is on the line.
In a letter to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last month, Kroes expressed
concerns about Vista’s integrated Internet search, digital rights
management tools used to protect copyrights and software that would
create fixed-document formats comparable to Adobe Systems Inc.’s
Portable Document Format, or PDF.
Speaking to reporters after the final hearing, Microsoft’s chief lawyer
Brad Smith said companies need to have confidence they can develop new
products with the features customers desire.
The European Commission ruled in March 2004 — after a five-year
investigation — that the world’s largest software company had to share
information with rivals and produce a version of its Windows operating
system without Media Player software.
Microsoft argued that the record $613 million fine levied against it
should be tossed out or at least greatly reduced because the punishment
outweighed the infraction.
The Commission said to throw out the fine, or even reduce it, would send
a message that virtual monopolies would be harder to fight in court and
impede regulators’ ability to keep a level playing field in the world of
business.
In a terse exchange with Commission lawyer Anthony Whelan on Thursday,
Judge John D. Cooke asked whether Microsoft’s proprietary information
should be given away to its rivals, including patent information.
Cooke, who will write the draft ruling, wanted to know if “competition
rules require that be taken away from Microsoft, conveying a huge
commercial advantage.”
The Commission has never asked Microsoft to open up its source code —
the recipe for Windows, but Microsoft offered earlier this year to grant
some access to rivals under certain conditions if it would appease both
EU and US regulators.