Microsoft appeals against EU ruling
US software giant Microsoft has made a new appeal against an EU ruling against it in March 2004 for abusing its dominant market position.
The European Commission last year fined the software group a record 497 million euros ($610 million), and also forced it to market a version of its Windows operating system without bundling it with its Media Player software.
Microsoft said it had filed an application on 10 August for annulment of the ruling over the issue of “broad licences in source code form of communications protocols which are based upon Microsoft’s intellectual property”.
“This filing is the result of the agreement we reached with the commission in June to put this particular issue to the [EU] Court of First Instance for guidance and avoid any further delay in the process,” the company said on Wednesday.
“We are taking this step so the court can begin its review now of this issue given its far reaching implications for the protection of our intellectual property rights around the world,” it added.