Microsoft to Pay $32m Fine in Antitrust Ruling
Microsoft to Pay $32m Fine in Antitrust Ruling
December 12, 2005: South Korean regulators have slapped Microsoft with a US$32 million fine and ordered it to unbundled its messaging service from Windows software.
Internet software firm Daum Communications originally brought the case to Microsoft, claiming that it was breaching antitrust rules by selling a version of Windows that included its instant messenger software.
The Fair Trade Commission’s chairman Kang Chul-kyu said the inclusion of messenger in Windows was blocking competition and leading to a monopoly in the market. It raises the entry barriers to competition, eventually hurting the interest of consumers.
The ruling is one of several similar cases this year, with Microsoft coming out on the a bit more battered from each. It has already been ordered to pay Real Networks $761 million for anti-competitive practises regarding its media player software and a $775 settlement with IBM over discriminatory pricing and overcharging allegations.
Compared to these settlements (particularly the $2 billion it was ordered to pay Sun Microsystems in 2004) $32 million to South Korea can look like pocket change for the software giant however, the ruling also states that the company must produce two separate versions of Windows for the Korean Market. One with messenger, and one without that also enables other companies to embed services in Windows software.
Microsoft said the commission's decision would not stop the company from developing products for South Korea.
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