US ANTITRUST enforcers say they may need a court order to stop Microsoft over-charging for software that enables rival programs to communicate with Windows operating systems.
The Justice Department and 18 states cited "numerous concerns" about the licences Microsoft wants companies to sign before using the software.
Their concerns are in a report to the US judge in Washington overseeing Microsoft's compliance with the settlement of the government's antitrust case.
The antitrust accord, approved last year, requires Microsoft to licence on "reasonable and non-discriminatory terms" the software code to enable non-Microsoft programs to communicate with Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000, which drive large corporate computer networks.
The requirement is to help rivals compete with Microsoft.
|