By Jo Best, 14 November 2005 13:20
NEWS
Microsoft has contacted powerful firms and the US government to seek help in its ongoing antitrust battle with the European Commission.
According to the Financial Times, Microsoft has met with officials in the White House and US Department of Justice to ask for their support in tackling the EC in overturning a number of judgements in the competition case.
The FT also reports that Microsoft has sent a memo to a number of big businesses, including one pharmaceutical firm, requesting they lobby the US government to publicly back Microsoft in its wranglings with the EC.
The paper quotes the memo as detailing members of the US administration who should be contacted by its business allies, plus a list of four "talking points", including: "I understand that Microsoft has asked the US government to intervene directly in the trade secrets case and I wanted you to know that our company supports that request" and EC action "could adversely impact the value of trade secrets which are substantial business assets for many US companies, including mine".Microsoft said similar intervention is common from the EC in cases conducted in the US.
The software giant said in a statement: "In recent years, the European Commission and EU member state governments have intervened in a number of competition cases and appeals in the United States. It makes sense for the US government to offer its views in a similar way under the procedures established by European courts, where the issue has broad implications for the global economy."
Microsoft has been appealing the EC case since the EC passed its landmark decision on the software maker, fining it 497m and requiring it to offer Windows XP without a version of Media Player included.
A final decision on the matter is now expected in the spring.
Comments
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1. Charles Smith
Pax Americanus
Having established a defacto monopoly using proprietory software and interfaces Microsoft is moving to US Governmental pressures to attempt to distort EC legislative rulings.
If Microsoft don't like the heat in the kitchen, maybe they should leave. There are alternatives to their products.
2. Hugh G Sinic
If Microsoft don't like the terms of trading in the EU they can take their crummy "crash every five minutes" software and shove it somewhere it hurts. They are under no obligation to sell in Europe.
Our motor manufacturers (as well as just about every other industry you care to mention) have all but gone bust as a result of the different rules and regulations / tarrifs imposed on them by the Americans, so where is the difference ??
Perhaps the EU should be even tougher and then maybe we would encourage the open source community and further innovation around the world instead of "Global Stifling" by Microsoft.
The words "off" and "p**s" spring to mind - but not necessarily in that order !!
Politicians - stand your ground for once in your pathetic lives - I know it is difficult, but don't let the bribes get to you - ooops, silly me, corruption is the name of the game (11 years of the EU accounts now rejected by the auditors). Perhaps I shoud say - dont sell yourselves too short because your fellow MEP's are sure to be offered lucrative non-working board positions, so why not you - "one for all, all for the gravy train" eh ?
3. George Dundon
Where will this end?
It is very likely that the records and documents used in this trial were all prepared using Microsoft software.
Microsoft could, if they chose, simply stop trading in Europe and that would leave everybody in a real mess.
The effective monopoly that Microsoft has found itself with is a threat to all of us and to realise that all of our governments departments, armed forces and utility services are reliant on the product of one single company of a foreign power is alarming.
Perhaps we stopped focusing on the sideshows like this and started to look at the operating system dependancy as a matter of national security and viability.
4. Phil
Quote: There are alternatives to their products.
Are there?? If your meaning that amateur thingy, that is not an alternative.
To be asked after all this time to remove their player from the os is the same as asking Ford to remove the engine from their cars before they sell it.
As for the comment about Microsoft not liking the heat in the kitchen, the obverse could be also stated that if you don't like MS player then don't buy the OS.
5. William
Quote:"Don't buy the OS"
Phil you are absolutely right. Don't buy the OS and use an effective low cost alternative. It won't be full of security holes, it will run reliably and won't have outrageous licence fees.
This blind belief that MS is the only way is very reminicent of the old IBM mainframe days when people thought that IBM was the only solution.
The whole point about the EC case is that the monopoly organisation set out to crush the other video player software by bundling a "free" version in their OS. It is classic predatory behaviour to wipe the opposition.
6. Simon
Phil asked if there are alternatives to MS products. The answer is that there is NOTHING that you can do with MS software that can't be done with alternatives.
That doesn't mean that teh alternatives work in the same way, or are file compatible, etc, etc, just that there is NOTHING that cannot be done using non-MS software.
The fact that MS has used it's massive presence to distort the market and environment to the point where people are narrowing the options to "works seamlessly with MS stuff" misses the point - if MS pulled out of Europe we would simply go out and use the stuff that is there, and in sufficient numbers that we could turn round to those still using (for example) Word and tell them to get their fingers out and read/write the files WE are using.
MS cannot afford to pull out of Europe, because Europe is a big enough market to "go it's own may", and once (say) there is 20 or 30% of the market using something then it will come down to MS users demanding that MS make their products compatible instead of the other way around.
That's why MS are so keen to be seen as good guys and rubbish the EU, they desparately need to hang on to their effective monopoly.
And yes, I agree with another poster that we chould really be looking at this dependence on a foreign power as a matter of national security. Lets face, tunr the table and could you see the NSA or DoHS in the US allowing the US to be reliant on a Eupean company ?
7. Stephen Culley
Most large companies.. governments and millitary dont use Microsoft.. most use Linux or Unix. Not to mention many countrys like China and the linux open source fingers up to Microsoft.
To be honest.. getting some of Microsofts market share will allow open source to produce some software that works far beyond what Microsoft produces.. think how much life you waste having to reboot windows!
8. anonymous
Stepen I am reasonably certain that the MOD does use MS stuff in places.
Also I have many times seen the familiar BSOD on machines controlling entrance to museums and the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard site.
As for wasting time re-booting Windows I have just had a basinfull trying to sort USB issues which I suspect were triggered by recent MS updates.
Snag with Linux can be that some software some of us need (for image processing, particularly scanner, and printer drivers and software for particular digital camera makes to mention just a few) are hard to come by with Linux (GIMP excepted). Of course this is, I suspect, the result of MS restrictive practices with respect to the vendors of such kit.
9. Anon
The new SuSe 10 and Xandros Desktop handle a large range of scanner and other hardware support. I hope you all stand up to them (MS) as no one one here in the US has *nads* enough to do it; since MS has purchased so many Government and hardware manufacturing lackeys to ensure their monopoly.
MS has succeeded in dumbing down a generation of people and turning them into lemmings to make them dependnt on their software, like a drug dealer and their tactics and actions make them a criminal enterprise; they just "buy off" judgements and complaintents
10. anonymous
It would be fantastic if MS just pulled all its products from the EU. The pro-MS lobby would be horrified at how little negative impact that move would actually have. After all, you can still run the software that you bought, and if you work together it really doesn't take all that much to get your favorite software compiled and running on a different system. A lot of the resistance to change is due mostly to ignorance, but it's been like that since the time someone discovered that you could use logs as rollers to move things.