EU court may suspend Media Player sanctions

net1

Microsoft is holding out slender hopes for new settlement talks with regulators as an EU court decides this week whether to suspend antitrust sanctions. The company was fined E497 million and ordered to strip its Media Player software from some versions of its operating system.

The European Court of First Instance, the EU's second-highest court, is expected to rule whether the company must comply now or wait years until a panel of judges hears its full appeal. Microsoft must convince the court president that its case can be won on appeal and that its business will be irreparably harmed unless sanctions are suspended. The Commission says the sanctions would be meaningless if delayed, because the market will have moved on. Either side can appeal to the EU's highest court, the European Court of Justice.

If Microsoft fails it will be forced to sell two versions of Windows in Europe – one with Media Player and one without.