Microsoft hits back at Commission ruling

Microsoft has issued a lengthy response to the European Commission's finding against the company, claiming that the ruling seeks to set a precedent that will damage intellectual property rights.

Redmond's seven-page response, which also attacks the Commission's 300-page ruling as undermining its ability to innovate, is likely to form the basis of an appeal which needs to be lodged by June.

Last month the Commission handed Microsoft a £331m fine, requiring it to provide a version of Windows without its Media Player software.

"The Commission is seeking to make new law that will have an adverse impact on [intellectual property] rights and the ability of dominant firms to innovate," said Microsoft.

The statement acknowledged Microsoft's dominance, but stated: "The [Commission's] decision goes well beyond established legal precedent by asserting a broad and ill-defined duty on dominant firms to share the fruits of their research and development with other companies in the same market."

Microsoft's second major complaint addresses the issue of including new features, such as Media Player, to improve its finished products, and asks how this can be unlawful.

"The decision effectively finds such product integration to be unlawful if an alternative component supplier may suffer a loss of market share, unless the dominant firm can prove that the integration is 'indispensable' to achieving pro-competitive benefits," the statement continued.

Microsoft suggested that it is not reasonable to have to prove this indispensability, arguing that the decision "side-steps the many benefits that developers, consumers and others in the PC industry derive from Microsoft's integration of media playback functionality in Windows".

The full response can be found here.