Airframer reverses decision to support software giant's Luxembourg antitrust appeal
Confusion surrounds Airbus's interest in supporting US software giant Microsoft in its competition trial brought by the European Commission, after the airframer withdrew its request to intervene late last week.
Microsoft is due to appear this week in Luxembourg before the Court of First Instance, the European Union's highest court for commercial cases, to seek an injunction against an earlier EC ruling that it had abused its dominant market position to limit competition. Airbus submitted a request to intervene in the case, effectively becoming a witness on Microsoft's behalf, but the latter now confirms the European manufacturer will not attend. Airbus had been on the list of interveners judged by the court to have been directly affected by the ruling and was due to speak on Microsoft's behalf.
However this week's hearing is only to allow Microsoft to seek an interim delay to the imposition of penalties mandated by the judge, which include a demand for the software company to share source code for its Windows operating system with competitors and sell a version of Windows without "bundled" Media Player software. The case could run for several years.
If Microsoft loses its eventual appeal, the ruling could change supplier relationships in other sectors. Airbus could be forced to offer aircraft without "bundling" its choice of seats, avionics or in-flight entertainment, and could potentially be asked to reveal the technical specifications of its products.
Microsoft's associate general counsel for Europe, Horacio Gutierrez, says: "This filing confirms the negative effects of the Commission decision will be felt well beyond the software industry."
JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON
Source: Flight International
