Microsoft and EU face off in Luxembourg court

April 24, 2006

Today, court proceedings in the European Union's Court of First Instance in Luxembourg began as Microsoft Corporation filed an appeal against the European Union Commission's decision in an anti-trust case, commenting that the Commission made several mistakes in its decision to fine Microsoft 497 million euros, or approximately 613 million dollars concerning several allegations that Microsoft used its majority share in desktop software to also take over the video and media player business. The Commission also forced Microsoft to produce a version of Windows XP that did not include Windows Media Player. Only 1,787 copies were ordered through March 31st. Microsoft has also alleged that the proposed punishment of 2 million euros per day is too severe. The EU has also proposed that Microsoft's upcoming operating system, Windows Vista will also exclude rivals through bundling programs. Although a decision is not expected for at least several months, analysts have predicted that a verdict in favor of Microsoft would destroy the EU Commission's prestige as well as any case against Microsoft.