By Dawn Kawamoto, 1 October 2004 07:00
NEWS Microsoft and the European Commission faced probing questions on Thursday from a European judge reviewing the remedies ordered in the Commission's antitrust decision.
Bo Vesterdorf, president of the Court of First Instance, is hearing the software giant's appeal of the Commission's order to share technical information with rivals and provide a version of Windows without its Media Player bundled in.
During the first day of a two-day hearing, Vesterdorf asked pointed questions of both parties - delving into whether Microsoft would suffer irreparable harm if it shared technical information with rivals. He also zeroed in on whether the Commission had made its case that Microsoft's dominance in one defined market is being used to stifle competition in a secondary market, according to people at the hearing.
Georg Greve, president of the Free Software Foundation Europe, a trade group for open-source software that gave testimony on behalf of the Commission, said: "He seemed quick at picking things up and persistent in asking questions he felt people were dodging."
The industry is closely watching the hearing because Vesterdorf's decision will have wide-ranging repercussions throughout the tech industry - from giving developers and computer manufacturers the option of using a Media Player competitor to providing the legal means to purse the unbundling of other software.
If Vesterdorf rules in the Commission's favour, Microsoft will have to comply with the panel's order immediately. If he rules in Microsoft's favour, the software giant will not have to share information or strip the media player from Windows unless it loses a trial, which could take two years.
Parties in the case said it was difficult to gauge which way Vesterdorf is leaning after the first day of the hearing, but most said he appeared to be well-prepared.
Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, said in a statement: "It is clear that the court has identified the key issues at the heart of this case. The exchanges in the afternoon session revealed some fundamental weaknesses in the Commission's case involving interoperability. We are looking forward to tomorrow, when the issues will move to the Windows Media Player."
The first day was devoted to the issue of interoperability with Microsoft's operating system with other products and Friday will focus on the Media Player.
Although the European Commission declined to comment on the hearing, third parties addressing the court on behalf of the Commission or Microsoft assessed the day's events.
Greve said Microsoft tried to step around the issue of its dominance in the client-server market. "They were trying to dodge how they wanted to take that monopoly to the workgroup server market," he added.
Dawn Kawamoto writes for CNET News.com
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