"Could this be a gauntlet? In its response to the
European Commission's accusations of anti-competitive behaviour,
Microsoft has claimed that the Commission forcing it to license its
source code would break international patent laws. And it has
noted: 'The proceedings before the Commission are inevitably
affected by the settlement that Microsoft has entered into with the
US Department of Justice.'"
These little snippets from the 102 page document, which was
leaked to Bloomberg yesterday, might just be read as Microsoft
drawing a line in the sand. The Commission does indeed have the
power to force Microsoft to license its source code, but if it did
so it would, in Microsoft's view, be breaking international law,
and setting itself up for a tussle with the US authorities and the
World Trade Organisation. It almost sounds like a threat, and that
might not be wise at this juncture. The reference to the DoJ deal
reinforces this - if the penalties imposed by the Commission are
seriously tougher than those negotiated in the US, the sometimes
precarious detente between European and US antitrust authorities
could collapse. Do you feel lucky, Mario?
Microsoft does however seem to be over-egging the pudding by
going on about "compulsory licensing," which is what it claims Sun
and IBM have asked for. Sun's complaint, could be tackled
effectively simply by allowing the company access to those parts of
Microsoft's code that link client systems to servers - WABI was a
long time ago, and Sun most definitely didn't ask the Commission
for help in reviving it. IBM's complaint, on the other hand, is an
enigma. Until Microsoft mentioned it we'd no idea that IBM had made
a complaint, and frankly, we doubt it has. Big Blue skulking in the
shadows in Brussels alleyways again, undoubtedly, sticking
stilettos into hapless monopolists..."
