CompTIA Asks European Court of First Instance to Suspend Microsoft Remedies.

LUXEMBOURG -- Order giving away IP and splitting media player would impose broad, irreparable harm to the industry and consumers

The following statement may be attributed to Lars Liebeler, antitrust counsel for the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA):

"Today, CompTIA addressed the European Court of First Instance (CFI), urging that the remedies put forward by the European Commission (EC) be suspended pending final resolution of the Microsoft antitrust case. To do otherwise would result in immediate, substantial and irreparable harm not just to Microsoft, but, more importantly, to the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry and European consumers.

"The EC's order places the Commission in the untenable position of making critical and artificial alterations to markets that operate in a highly competitive manner. Its effects would be devastating.

"The interoperability section of the EC's order, which directs Microsoft to give away its valuable intellectual property (IP) to competitors, stands contrary to widespread industry practice that clearly shows interoperability thrives in Europe. It also represents a monumental departure from long-recognized European IP legal protections that provide the needed incentive to create and innovate for consumers.

"If the interoperability order is not suspended, Microsoft will be irreparably harmed because once its IP is revealed, it will have lost its confidential nature forever, irrespective of whether Microsoft prevails in the main proceeding. Moreover, the industry as a whole will suffer because the failure to protect IP, as signaled by the EC's order, will chill overall ICT investment due to the fact that IP protections cannot be relied upon to help ensure return on that investment.

"Similar harm will be visited as a result of the EC's product design portion of the order, which directs Microsoft to create a version of Windows that does not include Windows Media Player (WMP).

"Overwhelming evidence suggests that the media player market benefits from vigorous competition on a wide and growing variety of platforms. The needless design split will not only force Microsoft to reconfigure its offerings - no small task on its own - but also cause major modifications to the offerings of thousands of third-parties who depend on the Microsoft platform to develop their products. Should the EC's order be overturned, these significant resources will go largely wasted and unrecoverable. In addition, the resulting damage to consumer goodwill created by the confusion of two versions of Windows - one with, one without WMP - cannot be overstated.

"On the whole, the EC's order injects government regulation into the very heart of the exceedingly pro-consumer computer software sector, strongly cautioning for its suspension. Quite simply, if the order is allowed to stand pending final judgment, it will be interpreted by the industry as a tacit acceptance of the EC's low and simultaneously fluid legal standard - a standard not borne out by the clear preponderance of the evidence - thus significantly impairing vibrant ICT competition and its resulting innovation in Europe."

About CompTIA

CompTIA is a global trade association representing the business interests of the information technology industry. For more than 22 years CompTIA has provided research, networking and partnering opportunities to its 20,000 members in 102 countries. The association is involved in developing standards and best practices, and influencing the political, economic and educational arenas that impact IT worldwide. More information is at www.comptia.org.