Could this be a gauntlet? In its response to the European Commission's accusations of anti-competitive behaviour, Microsoft has claimed that the Commission forcing it to license its source code would break international patent laws. And it has noted: "The proceedings before the Commission are inevitably affected by the settlement that Microsoft has entered into with the US Department of Justice."
These little snippets from the 102 page document, which was leaked to Bloomberg yesterday, might just be read as Microsoft drawing a line in the sand. The Commission does indeed have the power to force Microsoft to license its source code, but if it did so it would, in Microsoft's view, be breaking international law, and setting itself up for a tussle with the US authorities and the World Trade Organisation.
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