• Financial Times, Monday, September 17, 2007 11:45 AM

The European Court of First Instance this morning rejected Microsoft's appeal against a ruling by the European Commission that found the software group had violated competition rules by abusing its dominant market position. It also upheld a ¬497 million fine.

The court let stand the EC's finding that Microsoft had abused its dominant position in two ways: by refusing to supply rival companies with crucial information about the ubiquitous Windows operating system; and by bundling its Media Player software into Windows, thereby undermining competition from other media player providers.

Microsoft now faces further intense probing by the Commission--for example, over the way that new functions have been bundled into Windows Vista, its latest operating system. Microsoft's top lawyer says that the company has not yet decided what, if any, legal steps to take after the ruling. Observers feel Microsoft will appeal the ruling to the European Court of Justice, but today's ruling can be attacked only on points of law, not fact.

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