Microsoft Dodges Additional EU Fines

On July 12, EU competition regulators decided that Microsoft was in breach of a 2004 antitrust case ruling and fined the US software giant with 280.5 million euros. As Microsoft had failed to submit all the protocol documentation installment required by the EU, the European Commission was swift in its decision and penalized Microsoft's slow progress although the Redmond Company was just one step away from completing its antitrust tasks. In the wake of this latest EU monopoly ruling, Microsoft has devised no less than 10 "Thou shall not antitrust" commandments clearing the way for a new company strategy, one in compliance with antitrust law.

Representatives of the EU Regulator Institutions have announced today that the Redmond Company has submitted the remaining technical documentations in a bid to avoid additional fines. "We received the technical documentation from Microsoft. The competition services are currently analyzing it with the help of the trustee. It's too early to say whether they complied with the decision," stated an EU spokesperson.

In the coming weeks, the EU regulators are to analyze the documentation in all its aspects and to announce if they are satisfied with Microsoft's efforts or if they will hold the software giant guilty of another case of non-compliance with the original antitrust decision. The worst case scenario could bring additional financial penalties against Microsoft, this time of 3 million euros a day.