All 15 European Union nations have backed a proposed European Commission final ruling against Microsoft, potentially forcing the company to split Windows into two flavors.
The EC last August issued a preliminary ruling in its antitrust investigation, finding the company guilty of abusing its position and artificially skewing the market in multimedia players and low-end servers.
If ultimately found guilty, Microsoft stands to pay a fine of roughly $3.5bn.
However, EC competition commissioner Mario Monti is also reported to have assembled a proposed remedy that would require Microsoft to ship a version of Windows with Media Player stripped out, along with a version that contains Media Player.
The EC wishes to let PC manufacturers choose their own multimedia software, such as RealNetworks Inc’s RealPlayer or Apple Computer Inc’s Quicktime.
Microsoft has defended Media Player’s integration with Windows as part of its right to innovate, and claimed removal of software would damage the operating system. Microsoft made the same defense against removing Internet Explorer from Windows in antitrust case brought by the US Department of Justice.
The EC’s proposed settlement also seeks that Microsoft share more information with server manufacturers, for interoperability between their products and Windows.
A final ruling from the EC is expected later this month.
This article is based on material originally published by ComputerWire
