The Court of First Instance in Luxembourg has just confirmed the two decisions by the European Commission, prohibiting Microsoft to tie Media Player to Windows Operating System and ordering to disclose interoperability information for work group server systems. Microsoft did not win today, but the real question now is: who really lost? Thousands of European technology companies – large and small – and millions of consumers did.
Although it will take several hours and days to get a true assessment of the implications for SMEs and consumers, this decision undermines the value of intellectual property and the need to protect it. This is true for Microsoft and for the technology industry overall. What will be the incentives for small firms to invest, knowing that their ability to protect their innovations through intellectual property is threatened?
The decision to require Microsoft offer two versions of Windows – one with and one without Media Player – will also give software developers and consumers a hard time: following today’s judgment, they will face higher costs and more complexity, since the technologies they are demanding – like voice recognition and multi-touch interfaces – will not be necessarily integrated into Windows. Software developers will not be able to continue benefiting from increased Windows functionality and to ensure a platform for their products. This also opens a dangerous precedent for other companies and sectors: should Airbus start worrying about adding new features to their planes?
We will be analysing the Court’s judgment and will be blogging again in the coming hours.