Software wars
Microsoft has again shown it is ready to play rough to get its way – so much so that European Union antitrust regulators have started an investigation
EU v Microsoft
Resources
A new European Commission investigation into Microsoft focuses on whether its software products are unlawfully tied to sales of its operating system
Microsoft to appeal against EC fine
Microsoft said it would appeal against the record-breaking $1.4bn fine imposed by Brussels two months ago
Brussels to probe votes on Microsoft standard
European Commission to investigate voting process behind clearing the way for a key document format to be adopted as industry standard
EU fines Microsoft record $1.4bn
European regulators fined Microsoft a record $1.4bn for failure to comply with demands to end allegedly anti-competition business practices
Brussels wary of fresh Microsoft overhaul
Microsoft made a sweeping attempt to put its long-running regulatory problems behind it as it unveiled what it claimed was a broad new level of transparency and openness for its Windows operating system and other big-selling software
Is this a new era of openness for Microsoft?
Can Microsoft, the fiercest predator in the software jungle, really change its spots? That was the question left open after the company laid out what it claimed was a significant adjustment to its technology strategy
Related content and features
Comment and Analysis
Opening the windows on Microsoft
Taking on three decades of a huge corporation’s working methods is difficult. Bill Gates, the company’s guiding force, may be leaving but persuading his spirit to go is something else, says John Gapper
Microsoft’s leap
Microsoft has taken a step it would not too long ago have described as a threat to its business model. As such, its offer deserves to be taken seriously
Clash of the titans
Microsoft and the European regulator became embroiled in an agonising clash of cultures. Tobias Buck tells the inside story of the EU’s pursuit of US software giant
Transatlantic divide
EU’s line highlights Atlantic rift
The pursuit by European officials of some of the biggest US technology groups shows that important differences remain between the US and European approach
Europe regulators outpunch US
The Commission's willingness and ability to take on the likes of Microsoft and Intel in landmark investigations has irked national regulators, politicians and executives in the US
Microsoft’s Appeal
Microsoft wars
The European Commission should try to avoid another protracted legal fight. Its inquiry should be forward-looking and not just rake over the past
Microsoft concedes defeat in EU battle
Microsoft finally admitted defeat in its three-year battle with the European Commission, agreeing to allow competitors access to technology that Brussels said would create more innovation in the software market
Microsoft case reveals a regulatory gulf
The European Commission’s antitrust battle against the software company has highlighted the differences between US and European attitudes towards dominance abuses
Microsoft bows to the EU system
The European Court of First Instance dismissed the software group’s attacks on the March 2004 European Commission ruling, flicking aside its arguments as “scarcely credible,” “purely semantic” or “wholly unsubstantiated”
Kroes rebuffs US on Microsoft ruling
Neelie Kroes, the European Union competition commissioner, firmly rebuffed US criticism of the court judgment backing the landmark Brussels antitrust ruling against Microsoft
Microsoft ruling
Microsoft’s bruising nine-year battle with the European Commission has ended in stinging defeat, and the ruling appears to cement Brussels’ position as regulator-in-chief of the global technology industry
EU blow to Microsoft on Windows
Microsoft will be forced to hand over to rivals what the group claims is sensitive and valuable technical information about its Windows operating system for next to no compensation, according to a confidential document seen by the FT.
Microsoft format fight with rivals to intensify
A format war between Microsoft and a coalition of companies led by IBM and Sun will be fought in the normally staid meeting rooms of national standard-setting bodies over the next two days
