Microsoft has until midnight tonight to comply with the European Commission’s business guidelines, or it will have to pay fines of up to $5 million per day.
It was announced about a week ago that Microsoft had until the end of May to do so. Last year, the company lost an antitrust dispute, and the time has come for Microsoft to play ball with the EU. The company is expected to provide the EU with details about how it intends to comply.
Microsoft also was ordered to make its ubiquitous Windows operating system available without the Windows Media Player, so that computer makers can buy alternative software to play video and audio from competitors such as RealNetworks and Apple Computer. The software giant must also share information with rival makers of servers used to run printers and retrieve files, so that Microsoft’s system will work with software products from other companies.
European antitrust regulators, who have been at odds with Microsoft over its efforts to comply with its order, hope to make a decision by July 20 as to whether Microsoft has submitted an acceptable proposal for compliance, said Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the European Union. That date is the last meeting of the European Commission before its summer recess.
“Microsoft is concerned about losing control of its intellectual property, and the fact is some of the licensing terms used by open-source software developers raise a legitimate concern,” said Neil Macehiter of Macehiter Ward-Dutton, a firm that advises companies on their IT strategies. “A compromise is going to be difficult.”
Microsoft is also supposed to appoint an independent trustee to monitor its compliance. The European Commission is still waiting for the company to do so.
Microsoft and the EU have reportedly been negotiating over Memorial Day Weekend regarding compliance of the guidelines, but no progress has been reported.
Chris is a staff writer for murdok. Visit murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
