As European regulators have not yet reached a decision on
whether Microsoft has violated EU antitrust laws by abusing its
dominant market position to gain unfair advantage against rivals,
the software giant is to make a final attempt to settle the
allegations, according to Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.23 Jan 2003
The European Commission has been investigating Microsoft since 1998, when competitors accused the company of failing to disclose hardware specifications necessary to integrate non-Microsoft software into corporate networks.
If the Commission decides that Microsoft has violated European competition rules, it has the power to fine the company up to 10% of its worldwide annual revenues.
Although the Commission was expected to issue its decision by the end of 2002, no conclusion has been reached and the case is still under review. Microsoft now reportedly plans to submit a detailed document, explaining how the company is going to address the European investigators' concerns. The content of the proposals is, at the moment, unknown.