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South Korea: Microsoft is Guilty. Again.
Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 11:52 AM EST

The Korea Fair Trade Commission's released its decision [PDF] today in its investigation of Microsoft. The KFTC found that bundling of Windows Media Service, Windows Media Player, and instant messaging was anti-competitive, and ordered remedies including unbundling instant messaging and Media Player from Windows, a $32M fine, and a 10-year supervision period. I guess that is like probation.

Despite its warnings of withdrawing Windows from the Korea market, Microsoft's deputy general counsel Thomas Burt said in an interview with Reuters Television, "We do not believe that this remedy will require Microsoft to withdraw Windows from Korea."

Press reports of the decision:

ZDNET UK
Yahoo 1
Reuters
Yahoo 2

So Microsoft did a deal with Real Networks, and it did them no good at all. I wonder if that's the end of that strategy? Speaking of strategies, when does Microsoft grasp what the problem is and just quit it? Microsoft says it will appeal.

ZDNET points out that the judge in the US antitrust case, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, was upset with Microsoft for coming up with "a marketing agreement that would have forbidden portable music player makers from bundling anything except Windows Media Player with their devices." It never went out of the building, so to speak, and Microsoft's attorney seems to have presented it to the court as a woops on the part of an employee (right, a lawyer, which this presumably was, doesn't know how to draw up a contract without breaking antitrust laws, without violating the US settlement, and without doing precisely what South Korea was investigating them for?), and Kollar-Kotelly, incredibly, said she was "pleased at the renewed vigor in compliance efforts," but hey, Massachusetts, are you paying attention at all? Microsoft made some promises about its XML. But, at some point, doesn't Microsoft's credibility need to be considered a factor when they make promises? Isn't it three times and you're out?

As for inconvenience in switching away from Microsoft products and life as we've known it, the South Korean findings has some advice for consumers:

On the other hand, the possibility that certain consumers and related businesses may temporarily be inconvenienced cannot be ruled out. Nevertheless, if there is to be any minor inconvenience, it is expected to be short term. Therefore, consumers are asked to persevere such inconvenience and consider it as a way to participatae in remedying the harm of monopoly, promoting competition and developing software industry.

They have some advice for Microsoft too:

Finally, Microsoft, as the largest sofware business in the world, is urged to bear in mind that its market position asks for a corresponding responsibility. Accordingly, the KFTC requests Microsoft to exert efforts so that its customers will not be inconvenienced and their satisfaction should be increased.

Wouldn't that be refreshing? They could start by supporting ODF, so that the disabled and the rest of us are not "inconvenienced" and our customer satisfaction "should be increased."


  


South Korea: Microsoft is Guilty. Again. | 191 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
South Korea: Microsoft is Guilty. Again.
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 12:24 PM EST
next time I am in court I am going say woops sorry it was mistake -

do you think the judge will let it slide too?

if it worked for microshaft it must work too for the people of the country.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Offffffff Topic Here
Authored by: pfusco on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 12:32 PM EST
Please make clicky's linkable

---
only the soul matters in the end

[ Reply to This | # ]

The incredible Kollar-Kotelly
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 12:33 PM EST
Kollar-Kotelly, incredibly, said she was "pleased at the renewed vigor in compliance efforts"

Yes, this is pretty incredible. But CKK's decisions have been strange for a whi le

[ Reply to This | # ]

Corrections
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 12:42 PM EST
s/participae/participate/

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • Corrections - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 01:42 PM EST
  • micorsoft_case.pdf [sic] - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 03:26 PM EST
South Korea: Microsoft is Guilty. Again.
Authored by: Jude on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 12:44 PM EST
So Microsoft did a deal with Real Networks, and it did them no good at all. I wonder if that's the end of that strategy?

All it means is that Microsoft will use different methods to shaft Real.
As Darl McBride says, "Contracts are what you use against parties you have relationships with."

[ Reply to This | # ]

Microsoft just does not understand
Authored by: Chris Lingard on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 12:51 PM EST

Microsoft just do not understand what is wrong, here is their pres s release. Claims of innovation, and that Korean's can innovate too. The whole point is that we cannot innovate when the protocols are secret, and methods are patented. As long as Microsoft sucks funds out of economies, without any return, then we are stuck in a dumbed down consumer society.

And Microsoft know Korean law better that the Korean's too.

Microsoft Statement on Korean Fair Trade Commission Decision Microsoft today issued the following statement upon being advised of the Korean Fair Trade Commission's decision in its ongoing investigation of Microsoft under the Korean Fair Trade Law.

REDMOND, Wash. - Dec. 7, 2005 - Microsoft today issued the following statement upon being advised of the Korean Fair Trade Commission's decision in its ongoing investigation of Microsoft under the Korean Fair Trade Law. We disagree with the Commission's decision and strongly believe that Microsoft has operated within Korean law.

Microsoft's integration of instant messaging and media player functionality in Windows has created great value for consumers and opportunities for Korean developers who write applications that run on Windows and create devices for Windows. Competition in these technologies in Korea has been, and remains, vibrant with many new Korean companies successfully offering digital media and instant messaging choices for Korean consumers. This decision could have the effect of chilling innovation in Korea.

We intend to appeal this decision because it is inconsistent with Korean law. Nevertheless, we will continue developing products for Korean consumers in a way that complies with all laws and is pro-competitive. Microsoft has long felt that Korea is an important center of innovation for our industry. We remain committed to Korea and look forward to continuing to serve the interests of Korean consumers as well as the rest of the Korean information technology industry.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

[ Reply to This | # ]

South Korea: Microsoft is Guilty. Again.
Authored by: arksin on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 12:54 PM EST
Three cheers for South Korea! Too bad the Massachusetts goverment dosn't have
the same back bone.

[ Reply to This | # ]

M$ knows what the problem is
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 01:04 PM EST
The problem is everyone else who keeps getting in their
way. And, as long as its people, money will fix it.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Easy to read
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 01:07 PM EST
OK, why is it that the English translation of a Korean language ruling is *so*
much easier for this simple layman to read than the rulings that come out of
American courts ;>

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • Easy to read - Authored by: RPN on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 02:36 PM EST
    • I'm Silly - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 11:23 PM EST
  • Easy to read - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 03:13 PM EST
South Korea: Microsoft is Guilty. Again.
Authored by: luvr on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 01:19 PM EST
But, at some point, doesn't Microsoft's credibility need to be considered a factor when they make promises?

You mean, promises like: "We will quit the Korean marketplace if we are found guilty"?
Or: "We will withdraw Windows from the European market if we don't get the proper Intellectual Property protection (patents) in Europe"?

;-)

[ Reply to This | # ]

Get it? They get it.
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 01:24 PM EST
There have been stories of car companies comparing the cost of a safty recall
against the cost of wrongful death lawsuits. I am pretty sure Microsoft has
calculated the costs of these antitrust violations and found the pale in
comparison to rewards of violating antitrust law.

I am pretty sure MS made more than $32 million from bundling IM and MediaPlayer
with Windows, and now that they are ensconced in both markets, most Korean
customers will simply download the clients as soon as they get thier machines.

[ Reply to This | # ]

South Korea: Microsoft is Guilty. Again.
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 01:26 PM EST
My take is somewhat different on this, I dont think bundling mediaplayer or
messenger with the OS is a crime. If it is then, Apple, And Just about every
flavor of linux out there is culpable since they all do the same thing. Who
wants an operating system that you cant do anything with. Your not being FORCED
to use messenger or mediaplayer, and many dont. But the simple act of providing
it as an option is simply a neccesity. Now if your being FORCED to use it then
thats another story, And microsoft should have to make both WMP and messenger
esier to remove than they are, but being forced to not include them simply
because you have a large market share sounds very much like people complaining
just for the sake of complaining.

Proze

[ Reply to This | # ]

M$ is CLUELESS!
Authored by: rsi on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 01:33 PM EST
And so is SCO!

"Speaking of strategies, when does Microsoft grasp what the problem is and
just quit it?"

Both SCO and M$ REFUSE to grasp ANYTHING that doesn't support their greed! SCO
will be gone within two years, and Mickey$oft will continue to lose money as the
FLOSS community continues to gain acceptance, on the road to World Domination,
not by force, but by CHOICE!!!

I have given up on both M$ and SCO. I am too busy switching my clients over to
Linux, OpenOffice.org, v 2.0, and other Open Source Software!!!

[ Reply to This | # ]

Feds are siding with Microsoft
Authored by: Denney on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 02:26 PM EST
I posted the same in "Off Topic", then thought better of it. Sorry for the double post. My apologies.

Cnet news.com is reporting that the Feds are siding with Microsoft against South Korea on this antitrust ruling. Figures!

---
=====================================================< br /> I had a Nightmare! All TRUTH was Known!! --Anonymous

[ Reply to This | # ]

South Korea: Microsoft is Guilty. Again.
Authored by: rc on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 02:46 PM EST
Speaking of strategies, when does Microsoft grasp what the problem is and just quit it?
As others have said, M$ gets it, the problem is they also realize that, if they 'just quit it' they also realize that they will almost overnight lose their monopoly power.

Of course, the thing they really don't get is that said time (loss of control) is coming regardless of what they do, and sooner than they realize (and less soon than I'd like, personally speaking)

(and, I might add, if they continue on their current path, when that day comes they may not be able to recover - whereas if they started being honest and all those things they MIGHT have a chance of being around in 20 years...)

rc

[ Reply to This | # ]

OT: Patents and bio-piracy
Authored by: Stumbles on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 03:08 PM EST
This is a great idea they are doing in India to stop bio-piracy.

I wonder if the same thing could be done with other books in other areas of technology?

---
You can tune a piano but you can't tune a fish.

[ Reply to This | # ]

South Korea: Microsoft is Guilty. Again.
Authored by: DL on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 03:53 PM EST
Microsoft is like the toddler, who being told not to do something, looks right
at you, grins, and very deliberately does it again.

---
DL

[ Reply to This | # ]

When will you grasp reality?
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 04:02 PM EST
Speaking of strategies, when does Microsoft grasp what the problem is and just quit it?

Microsoft won't quit because it's going to win this one. Just hours after this story broke, another one appeared: the Bush Administration is applying pressure to the Korean government to water down this judgement.

It is really, really difficult to enforce the law on a company as rich and as unscrupulous as Microsoft. As long as politicians can be bought and judges can be bought, Microsoft will go on winning. It loses the occasional battle, but it has yet to lose a major war.

[ Reply to This | # ]

a 10-year supervision period.
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 04:35 PM EST

..."a 10-year supervision period."

Ha! Will Microsoft last that long?

[ Reply to This | # ]

The only thing that will beat Microsoft
Authored by: GrueMaster on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 06:25 PM EST
Is themselves. Face it, they've been around for 30 years. Their good products
are based on someone else's developments (Windows, Excel, etc), and they take
some good innovations and turn them into junk (Visual Foxpro, Frontpage). They
slap duct tape on it, and call it "patched". They paint and
repackage the duct tape ball and call it "New and Improved".


And we continue to buy it. That is the saddest part.

Novell and Unix had the server market wrapped up, Mac had the GUI and could have
been big, the Internet was developed through Unix and open standards, need I go
on? Microsoft took a shareware OS (QDOS) for a really bad system design
(IBM-Intel), and made a marketing dream. They created MSN just for the purpose
of making sure AOL didn't get too big. They even made AOL use Internet Explorer
over their own in-house browser (Netscape). They released the Xbox * the 360
for the sole purpose of limiting Playstation sales. Now their gunning for
Google's advertising income.

When will the public and the politicians realize that they are far more
dangerous than any other force on the face of the planet?

The politicians (and even Microsoft executives) say that competition is good for
the economy and supports innovation. For a company that buys up most of
anything that out-innovates them, then disbands most of the knowledge base,
that's a pretty bold statement.

Ok, end rant.

---
You've entered a dark place. You are likely to be eaten by a Grue!

[ Reply to This | # ]

How is this different than including TCP/IP
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, December 07 2005 @ 11:32 PM EST
I remember when Windows 95 came out that one of the features that it included
was built-in TCP/IP. Previously you had to go get a TCP/IP stack from a 3rd
party. The companies that provided those stacks for Windows saw their market
disappear completely almost overnight. Did they have a case at that time or was
Windows not considered a monopoly yet?

How does the court decide what *should* be in the OS. An OS without TCP/IP
would be very much lacking to most people, but a lot of people would say the
same about not getting IM or media players right out of the box.

If MS did not insist on controlling everything and had done a deal with Real and
AOL to use their products a few years ago would that be OK or would other
competitors have a valid complaint that they were being shut out?

[ Reply to This | # ]

Proper response from South Korea
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, December 08 2005 @ 06:55 AM EST
If Microsoft wants to play hardball and shut S Korea out of windows I would
think there would be zero incentive for the Koreans to worry about protecting
MS's intellectual property. I can't help but wonder what would happen if all
the patents and copyrights were declared void in Korea in retalliation.

:-))

[ Reply to This | # ]

U.S. Department of Justice Disagrees. Again.
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, December 08 2005 @ 07:47 AM EST
Contact: U.S. Department of Justice, 202-514-2007 or 202-514-1888(TDD)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 /U.S. Newswire/ -- J. Bruce McDonald, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, issued the following statement today after the Korean Fair Trade Commission announced a decision in its antitrust case against Microsoft, ordering Microsoft to sell in Korea a version of its Windows operating system that includes neither Windows Media Player nor Windows Messenger functionality, requiring that Microsoft facilitate consumer downloads of third party media player and messenger products selected by the Commission, and prohibits Microsoft from selling in Korea a version of its server software that includes Windows Media Services:

"The Antitrust Division believes that Korea's remedy goes beyond what is necessary or appropriate to protect consumers, as it requires the removal of products that consumers may prefer. The Division continues to believe that imposing 'code removal' remedies that strip out functionality can ultimately harm innovation and the consumers that benefit from it. We had previously consulted with the Commission on its Microsoft case and encouraged the Commission to develop a balanced resolution that addressed its concerns without imposing unnecessary restrictions. Sound antitrust policy should protect competition, not competitors, and must avoid chilling innovation and competition even by 'dominant' companies. Furthermore, we believe that regulators should avoid substituting their judgment for the market's by determining what products are made available to consumers.

Press Release in Full

(Apologies for double-posting, but it's important to add this at the top level, where it's visible, to correct the record - giafly)

[ Reply to This | # ]

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