Microsoft Will Not Get to Defend IE-Windows Bundle in EU

The start of June 2009 should have been synonymous for Microsoft with a chance to defend the bundling of Internet Explorer and the Windows operating system, a practice considered monopolistic by EU antitrust regulators. However, the Redmond company won't get a chance to share its view with the Eu Antitrust Commission, as it has retired the request for a hearing. At the end of April 2009, when it presented its arguments to the Commission, Microsoft also asked for a hearing to take place, focused on the IE-Windows marriage.

“The dates the Commission selected for our hearing, June 3-5, coincide with the most important worldwide intergovernmental competition law meeting, the International Competition Network (ICN) meeting, which will take place this year in Zurich, Switzerland. As a result, it appears that many of the most influential Commission and national competition officials with the greatest interest in our case will be in Zurich and so unable to attend our hearing in Brussels,” revealed Dave Heiner, vice president and deputy general counsel.

Heiner explained that there was no point for Microsoft to participate in the hearing as long as the decision makers would be absent. Therefore, the software giant took the measure to “reluctantly notify the Commission that we will not proceed with a hearing on June 3-5.” The Redmond company did try to change the hearing date in light of the scheduling issues, but the requests produced no result. Heiner indicated that such a course of action from the EU managed to deny the company its rights of defense under European law.

“Unfortunately, the Commission has informed us that June 3-5 are the only dates that a suitable room is available in Brussels for a hearing. Thus, the Commission has declined to reschedule the hearing despite our offer to find and outfit a suitable room ourselves at another time,” Heiner added.

Microsoft has worked to confirm that a number of senior officials as well as national competition authority representatives will participate in the ICN meeting, rather than be present at the Internet Explorer-Windows hearing. In this context, Microsoft saw no reason to proceed with its planned defense. “While Microsoft maintains its request for a hearing at a different date, that request has been denied and the Commission hearing officer has deemed Microsoft to have withdrawn its request for a hearing,” Heiner said.

Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) RTW is available for download here (for 32-bit and 64-bit flavors of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008).