A lobby group backed by Nokia , Oracle and IBM has asked an EU court for permission to join the European Commission in its antitrust battle with Microsoft, it said on Wednesday. The five-firm European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS) said its request demonstrated there was still solid industry backing for the EU executive"s crackdown on Microsoft, despite settlements with some opponents.
In a landmark ruling last year the Commission found Microsoft abused the near-monopoly of its Windows computer operating system to crush competition. It fined the world"s biggest software maker nearly 500 million euros ($642 million) and ordered it to change its business practices. Microsoft failed in its bid to delay the sanctions, which required it to sell a version of Windows without Windows Media Player and share software data with rivals. However, the software giant is appealing the main ruling, even as it puts in place the changes ordered by the Commission.