Microsoft Fined 1 Billion + In EU Anti-Trust Ruling

[GhostShip]

This is a sizable chunk of change folks  :shock:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7266629.stm

The European Commission has fined US computer giant Microsoft for defying sanctions imposed on it for anti-competitive behaviour.
Microsoft must now pay a record 899m euros ($1.4bn; £680.9m) after it failed to comply with a 2004 ruling that it abused its position.

The ruling said that Microsoft was guilty of not providing key code to rival software makers.
"Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of EU competition policy that the Commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an antitrust decision," Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.
The fines come on top of earlier fines of 280m euros imposed in July 2006, and of 497m euros in March 2004.

You reap what you sew it seems and refusing to comply with a previous request has forced the EU to act, maybe MS will pull out of europe in response to this but its very unlikely.

[Cobra]

A sizable chunk of change indeed!

This is much better than a court loss many, many years ago where they were fined I believe $40,000 and no one was surprised when they did not give up doing what they were fined for. Gates kept amounts like that in his pocket.