Microsoft victory boosts EU antitrust credibility

The European Commission's victory over Microsoft on September 17 could embolden it as Europe's top competition watchdog but legal experts do not expect a regulating "rampage" against other corporate giants.
The Commission emerged from its court victory over Microsoft with its credibility as a strong competition regulator restored after recent setbacks.
Against expectations for a split ruling, judges at the European Court of First Instance, the EU's second highest tribunal upheld most of the Commission's landmark 2004 ruling against the US company.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes warned other companies with strangleholds over their markets, especially in the fast-moving technology sector, not to abuse their strength.
She said the court ruling "sends a clear signal that super-dominant companies cannot abuse their position to hurt consumers and dampen innovation by excluding competitors in related markets."
The Commission's court victory comes after a series of defeats in recent years at the tribunal, which have weakened the EU executive as a competition regulator.
In 2002, the court overturned three of the European Commission's merger decisions - Schneider-Legrand, AirTours-First Choice and Tetra Laval-Sidel - in decisions the competition watchdog has struggled to recover from.
The Commission has had other setbacks since then, culminating in July when the court ruled Brussels should compensate Schneider for blocking its merger with Legrand.
Lawyer Alec Burnside at law firm Linklaters said that the court's Microsoft ruling "should lift spirits a bit at the Commission (because) it has suffered a lot and practised a less aggressive policy since 2002."
Following the ruling, lawyer Maurits Dolmans with law firm Clearly Gottlieb said "the Commission is not going to suddenly regulate everybody" because the Microsoft case was highly exceptional.
Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith also noted that the court's "decision very clearly gives the Commission quite broad power and quite broad discretion."
While Microsoft has emerged from similar cases in the United States, Japan and South Korea relatively unscathed, EU regulators have taken a much harder line towards the company than their counterparts. The European Commission has taken considerable flak from outside Europe for its aggressive regulation of companies that are based outside of the European Union.