By Lester Haines for The Register
This article has been reproduced with permission.
The threat comes after the 2004 ruling which obliged MS to open
up its operating systems. Specifically, the company was ordered to
"disclose complete and accurate interface documentation which would
allow non-Microsoft work group servers to achieve full
interoperability with Windows PCs and servers".
MS appealed, lost, and was told to comply with the original
ruling under the threat of a daily fine commencing 15 December
2005. However, according to "two reports from a monitoring trust
that has been checking information supplied by Microsoft", the EC
says MS has not provided the "necessary detail" and that the
technical data supplied is "totally unfit at this stage for its
intended purpose".
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement: "I
have given Microsoft every opportunity to comply with its
obligations. However, I have been left with no alternative other
than to proceed via the formal route to ensure Microsoft's
compliance."
MS has retaliated by claiming that the EU has "not reviewed the
documents or its latest offer properly". The company's legal
representative, Brad Smith, said: "In the interest of due process,
we think it would have been reasonable for the Commission and the
Trustee at least to read and review these new documents before
criticizing them as being insufficient."
If MS does not cough up the "necessary detail" by 25 January, it
will be hit with the fine which will be backdated to the original
15 December deadline.
