Parties Behind Complaints Against Microsoft in EU Not Pleased
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2009-10-11 10:39:37 UTC
- Modified: 2009-10-11 10:39:37 UTC
Summary: ECIS and Opera do not accept the Microsoft offer
ON THREE occasions in the past week [1, 2, 3] we have remarked on the European Commission's surrender to Microsoft. Maybe the lobbyists infestation is to blame, but either way, it is worth pointing out two reports from Reuters.
The first makes it abundantly clear that ECIS
opposes the Microsoft offer (also
in Forbes).
An improved offer by Microsoft (MSFT.O) to settle the antitrust concerns of European Union regulators fails to tackle many issues, industry group ECIS said on Wednesday.
"ECIS notes that the settlement does not appear to deal with the inadequacies of Microsoft's standards compliance, unfair pricing practices or other concerns related to patent abuse or standards manipulation," the group said in a statement.
We have the text of a detailed complaint from ECIS in
this post from May. In addition, Reuters shows that
Opera is equally dissatisfied with the Microsoft offer.
An improved offer by Microsoft (MSFT.O) to settle the antitrust concerns of European Union regulators needs to be tweaked to make it more effective, Norwegian browser maker Opera (OPERA.OL) said on Wednesday.
For some background, also see:
Given opposition from the parties most involved in the interoperability case and the browser case (respectively), this agreement is unlikely to pass as is. But Microsoft's procrastination has enabled it to see Neelie Kroes vacate her chair while
the abuses carry on.
⬆
"Microsoft is asking people to pay them for patents, but they won’t say which ones. If a guy walks into a shop and says: “It’s an unsafe neighbourhood, why don’t you pay me 20 bucks and I’ll make sure you’re okay,” that’s illegal. It’s racketeering."
--Mark Shuttleworth
