Microsoft has asked the European Commission to accept the terms
of the proposed settlement which it reached with the US Department
of Justice, arguing that it covers all the concerns expressed by
the Commission. The 102-page Microsoft filing was obtained
yesterday by The Associated Press.
According to financial news site Bloomberg.com, Microsoft claims
that if it were forced by the Commission to comply with requests
from Sun, IBM and others to licence its source code, it would be
infringing patent laws and giving its rivals an easy means of
developing similar software.
According to AP, in arguing against the EU’s antitrust action,
Microsoft is saying that its circumstances are already difficult
and that no other commercial software company has to operates under
the restrictive conditions of its proposed deal with the Department
of Justice.
Microsoft’s deal still requires US court approval. Nine states
are supporting the Department of Justice in the settlement
proposal; another nine states are pushing for stronger
penalties.
