Microsoft Finally Taught a (tiny) Lesson

Today, the European Union finally finished going through the legal mess involved in an antitrust battle with Microsoft. The final fine on the company came to $1.3 billion.

This is a lot of money, even to a giant like Microsoft. But, by no means (sadly) will this be entirely detrimental to the company.

This antitrust case came about from Microsoft's habit of charging people who want to develop software that works with their system. I understand a royalty fee, and don't fault Microsoft for charging one in general. But, they were charging rates that were deemed unfair by the European Union. Microsoft responded by changing their rates for European companies, but that was about it.

They also appealed the decisions in EU courts. Now, however, things stand at a fine that itself it close to Microsoft's average annual legal expenses. CNN has more details in their article. I don't pretend to understand it all fully; I'm just glad someone finally stood up to the software giant.

The Point Blank Critic