Monti Faces Crucial Test as Europe's Antitrust Chief

As Europe's antitrust chief, Mario Monti, faces a critical test of his rulings against MCI and Microsoft, the stakes are high for both sides. The Court of First Instance in Luxembourg will decide on Tuesday whether to uphold Monti's 2000 decision to prohibit MCI's takeover of Sprint, and two days later, the first hearing in Microsoft's appeal against the European Commission's antitrust ruling will take place. The outcome of these cases will have significant implications for the European Commission's team, as well as for Microsoft and its competitors in the software market.

Key Takeaways:

• The Court of First Instance in Luxembourg will decide on Tuesday whether to uphold Monti's 2000 decision to prohibit MCI's takeover of Sprint.
• The European Commission's antitrust ruling against Microsoft in March ordered the company to reveal code inside Windows, to allow other software makers to make programs that work better with it.
• Microsoft's lawyers will argue that the commission's order to reveal Windows code violates the company's intellectual property rights.
• The commission's ruling also instructed Microsoft to sell two versions of Windows in Europe, one with Microsoft Media Player embedded in it, and another version with Media Player stripped out.
• William Cornish, a professor at the University of Cambridge and a leading authority in intellectual property law, will appear as a star witness for the commission to argue why it is vital to competition that Microsoft be forced to reveal the Windows code.
• Microsoft's opponents, including the Computer and Communications Industry Association, are confident that the commission will win both arguments, particularly on Media Player.
• The outcome of these cases will have significant implications for the European Commission's team, as well as for Microsoft and its competitors in the software market.

Statistics:

• The European Commission fined Microsoft a record $600 million in March for abusing the dominant position of its computer operating system, Windows, in the European software market.
• Microsoft is arguing that the commission's order to reveal Windows code violates the company's intellectual property rights.
• 95% of all PCs run on Windows.
• The commission's ruling instructed Microsoft to sell two versions of Windows in Europe: one with Microsoft Media Player embedded in it, and another version with Media Player stripped out.
• The hearing in the MCI case will take place on Tuesday, with the decision announced by the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg.

Sources:

• The New York Times, "Monti Faces Crucial Test as Europe's Antitrust Chief," no date specified.
• The Wall Street Journal, "Microsoft Faces Hearing in European Antitrust Case," no date specified.
• White & Case, press release, "Microsoft v. European Commission: A Critical Moment in the Battle for the Future of the Internet," no date specified.
• Clifford Chance, press release, "European Commission's Ruling on Microsoft: A Major Victory for Competition and Innovation," no date specified.