The vote of the European Union's second highest court last year to uphold a European Commission ruling against Microsoft Corp came on a 7-6 vote, Bloomberg news reported on Friday. The Court of First Instance never announces its votes, but Bloomberg said two people with direct knowledge of the outcome confirmed the vote.
On September 17, 2007, the court in Luxembourg upheld the 2004 finding of the European Commission that Microsoft had violated antitrust laws, for which it was fined 497 million euros and ordered to change its business practices. Microsoft did not appeal.
Former court president Bo Vesterdorf came close to criticising the decision of his own court in two speeches, without ever saying how he voted. Vesterdorf's speeches were made after he left the court. The court keeps its votes confidential to present a united front and to avoid pressure on individual judges by their countries. It is rare for internal tallies of the court to leak.
By contrast, votes in US appellate courts are announced publicly. Microsoft had no comment on the report. The Commission is continuing to investigate Microsoft on other violations. As well, it is investigating several other US technology companies, but on different kinds of charges.