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Data: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 14:08:19 +0100
Da: "F A B I O C C H I::" <fabiocchi@???>
Oggetto: Accuse all'Antitrust Europea su Microsoft
Rivals of Microsoft File Antitrust Complaint in Europe
By PAUL MELLER
BRUSSELS, Feb. 11 - An alliance of technology companies said today that it
had filed a new complaint with European antitrust regulators about the
Windows XP operating system of Microsoft, just as the regulators were
nearing the end of an investigation into earlier versions of Windows.
The alliance, called the Computer and Communications Industry Association,
said in a news conference today that Microsoft's dominance was stifling
innovation and competition in the development of software for all kinds of
digital devices, from computers to mobile phones. The alliance includes Sun
Microsystems, a longtime foe of Microsoft, as well as companies like Nokia,
AOL Time Warner, Eastman Kodak, Fujitsu and Oracle.
Amelia Torres, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, said that its
competition department would look into the complaint. The alliance filed the
260-page submission at the end of January. She said the new complaint would
probably not delay a ruling in the existing five-year investigation of
Microsoft, expected by the end of June.
At the heart of that case is the commission's accusation that Microsoft
leveraged its dominant position in operating systems software to win
advantages in related markets, like network software. It also accused
Microsoft of trying to wipe out the market for rivals' audio and
video-player software programs by incorporating its own product, Media
Player, into Windows, a practice known as bundling.
Thomas Vinje, a partner in the Brussels office of Morrison & Foerster who is
a legal adviser to the alliance, said the risks to competition posed by
Windows XP were much greater than those of previous versions of the
operating system. "Microsoft is using well-honed practices to achieve its
end, and it is using them with XP more than ever before," Mr. Vinje said.
In addition to Media Player, the new complaint asserts, Microsoft has
bundled its e-mail software, known as Outlook Express; a video-editing
program called Movie Maker; and instant-messaging software into Windows XP.
The complaint also accuses the company of using Windows XP to muscle into
the market for mobile phone operating systems and to win unfair advantages
for its online commerce system, known as .Net. Purchasers of Windows XP are
steered toward signing up for a component of .Net, the Passport identity
authentication system.
Another coalition of Microsoft's rivals, the Liberty Alliance led by Sun
Microsystems, is working to develop an open-source alternative to the .Net
Passport, which has drawn considerable criticism over privacy and data
protection concerns. The group hopes to introduce its system next year.
"XP clearly violates European Union competition law," said Ed Black,
president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association. "This
complaint comprehensively details the myriad anti-competitive abuses of
Microsoft that remain at the heart of their ongoing business strategy."
Tiffany Steckler, a spokeswoman for Microsoft, said the company could not
comment in detail about the new complaint. Speaking generally, Ms. Steckler
said: "It is up to the European Commission to decide what issues are
relevant to its probe. We have always said we are eager to work with the
commission to find a positive solution to the issues."
But she did say that "the allegations seem similar" to the ones the computer
and communications alliance made against Microsoft in the United States.
Mr. Vinje disagreed, saying the new complaint goes far beyond the group's
appeal against a decision last year by the United States Justice Department
to conclude its antitrust case against Microsoft. That appeal is pending.
Microsoft's rivals did not file the new complaint hoping to drag out the old
investigation, he said. "We want the commission to take a decision in the
existing case as soon as possible," he said. "We hope it will set important
precedents."
He noted that the original case's bundling accusation was very specific,
referring only to Media Player, which has long since eclipsed its nearest
rival, Real One Player, just as Microsoft's Web browser, Internet Explorer,
long ago overtook Netscape Navigator.
"Unless the commission acts rapidly in these sorts of cases, competition law
will be rendered meaningless in such fast-moving technology markets," Mr.
Vinje said. "We are presenting this complaint in such a way that the
commission can take action to preserve competition and innovation in these
markets before the competitors are decimated."
He called the Web browser market an example of stifled innovation. "Look at
Microsoft Internet Explorer. It is the same now as it was five years ago,"
Mr. Vinje said. "Microsoft doesn't need to innovate because there is no
serious competitor to Explorer any more."
Defenders of Microsoft argue that computer users like and benefit from the
convenience of a single software package incorporating everything from
e-mail to video players, and that they feel safer using software from a
single supplier because they encounter fewer problems with compatibility.
Even so, Mr. Vinje said, "the pattern among other software developers is
towards interoperability."
Mobile phone software suppliers in Europe use open standards, he added, and
their products "work perfectly together."
As for the advantages of software from a single source, Mr. Vinje said,
obliging Microsoft to unbundle its programs and sell them as separate
products would not impede computer manufacturers from installing all of
Microsoft's offerings on their products if they chose.
