Microsoft has lost an appeal against a fine brought on by the European Commission, as a landmark court case initiated in 2004 has been upheld.
The European Court of First Instance has upheld the ruling that Microsoft abused its dominant market position with its operating system and Windows Media Player, freezing out competitors by not sharing information in order to make the software compatible. As Microsoft did not adhere to this initial decision three years ago, it was ordered to pay a daily fine that amounted to about $690 million.
The only part of the initial case that was thrown out was the requirement for Microsoft to have an independent monitoring trustee to oversee the software company's behavior. In addition, Microsoft must now pay 80% of the Commission's court fees. Microsoft has reportedly indicated its willing to comply with the EU competition law, but has not yet determined its next steps from a legal standpoint.