The chief executive of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, said Monday that his company's legal woes in Europe, which have so far resulted in $2.6 billion in fines, were poised to improve following the software maker's decision last week to disclose thousands of pages of confidential code to rivals.
Ballmer, speaking at Cebit, the largest technology convention in Europe, said Microsoft's publication of 6,000 pages of code for its server software - which it says will enable competitors to design products that work seamlessly with Microsoft's own - has opened a new cooperative era with European regulators.
"Essentially, what we are permitting is more innovation around our products, more interoperability, maybe also more potential for third parties to cannibalize what could have been Microsoft business," Ballmer said. "But it is a path we have committed ourselves to because we think it is good for customers and is consistent with our legal obligations."
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