irms Complain About Charges, Terms of Licensing Program
Microsoft Corp. is trying to license key pieces of its technology at inflated rates and under onerous conditions, according to competitors who charge that the software giant is thwarting its antitrust settlement with the federal government.
The actions are discouraging rivals from participating in the licensing program, which is an important element of the agreement that Microsoft struck with the Justice Department and several states 18 months ago.
The software giant's major competitors were hoping the program would allow their systems to better interact with Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system, which resides on 95 percent of the world's personal computers. But none of those top rivals has signed up, and so far only four other companies are participating.
The low number of licensees concerns the Justice Department, which says it is devoting extensive resources to evaluating the program. But several companies say they fear the department is not forcefully pushing Microsoft to comply with the terms of the deal.
Microsoft insists that it is complying with the antitrust settlement, that its licensing terms are reasonable, and that it is open to negotiation with companies that want to license the technology.
"We are interested in listening to industry feedback and government feedback and to making changes to the program that will encourage greater adoption of the licensing program," said Mary Snapp, a Microsoft lawyer.
In the world of server systems, computers and software that power networks of other computers, Microsoft's biggest rivals are International Business Machines Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Novell Inc. and providers of the Linux operating system such as Red Hat.
After federal courts found that Microsoft used a variety of illegal tactics to squelch software competition in the mid-1990s, the Justice Department negotiated the deal, that it said would restore competition and prevent future anti-competitive conduct.
Portions of the agreement require Microsoft to reveal more of its computer code to other software developers to ensure that their programs will work properly with Windows. One unusual provision, however, allows Microsoft to license some of the code -- known as communication protocols -- to outside companies on "reasonable" and "non-discriminatory" terms. The protocols are specifically designed to help non-Microsoft server systems interact with Windows at individual workstations.
Source: Winbeta
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