The European Union’s (EU) antitrust agency may initiate a new investigation into software giant Microsoft due to allegations of “unfair monopoly” regarding Microsoft Office.
Last month, a group representing Microsoft’s competitors, including IBM, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems, accused Microsoft of preventing other companies from developing compatible products with the Office suite that work with the Windows operating system.
On Tuesday, March 7, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes informed reporters in Tokyo: “We have a duty and responsibility to carefully examine any allegations. If the allegations are valid, we will have to investigate.”
Microsoft has faced fines of $2.4 million per day for allegedly not complying with the ruling from the 2004 antitrust case.
Recently, however, Microsoft accused the EU of “colluding” with its competitors and being unfair towards them. A hearing is scheduled for later this month where Microsoft will present its defense arguments. If unsuccessful, Microsoft will have to enforce the fines.
The Microsoft Office suite is one of the highest-grossing products for the company and holds a dominant position in the enterprise software market. In this quarter, sales from this software suite brought Microsoft up to $2.1 billion, accounting for 45% of the company’s total revenue.
Indeed, Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Kirkland, asserts that antitrust lawsuits have become commonplace for Microsoft. Antitrust litigation is simply a business condition for this software giant.
“Even when they do not violate any laws, if competitors believe that Microsoft has engaged in similar behavior to what has been previously ruled, there could be a new lawsuit,” Rosoff stated.
“Microsoft has factored antitrust lawsuits into their planning. That is how this software company continues to maintain its dominance in software markets such as operating systems and office application suites.”
HVD – (Techweb)
