Microsoft Corp says a U.S. antitrust court victory last week has a lot to teach Europeans at a time when the software giant faces a major antitrust case here, but experts differ over whether the U.S. decision will make a difference.
European Union Court of First Instance Judge Bo Vesterdorf is considering a Microsoft request that he suspend sanctions imposed by the European Commission for the firm"s abuse of its dominance of personal computer operating systems.
Vesterdorf will make his decision on the heels of a U.S. Court of Appeals decision in Washington that gave Microsoft a sweeping victory by essentially upholding a deal on remedies that it negotiated with the Justice Department.
"I do hope that people in Europe and around the world will pause and perhaps take a bit of time" to read the decision, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said, noting it "addresses many of the precisely same questions that are front and center in Europe."