Paul Meller

The European Commission has contacted unspecified hardware manufacturers about Microsoft Corp.'s licensing policy because it suspects anti-competitive behaviour, it said Thursday.

In an effort to stamp out digital counterfeiting and piracy of products like music and movies, European lawmakers are criminalizing many legitimate businesses, according to companies such as Nokia Corp. and Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft Corp. is on the point of submitting its written response to European Commission (EC) antitrust complaints, a company spokeswoman said, adding that the decision whether or not to request an oral hearing hasn't yet been taken.

In a move that might affect the Microsoft Corp. antitrust case in the European Union, a senior judge at the European Court of Justice said Thursday that IMS Health, the largest collector of pharmaceutical sales and prescription data in the world, might be abusing its dominant position by refusing to license the way it organizes its information about the German market to rival NDC Health.

The European Commission will take France to court for not claiming back 450 million euros given in aid to Bull SA, it announced Wednesday.

The Foundation for a Free Information Structure (FFII), a lobbying group with wide support from European open-source community advocates, has reversed its position concerning a software patent bill after the European Parliament on Wednesday handed a surprise victory to the opponents of software patents.

The European Parliament voted in favour of a law that goes some way toward limiting the scope for patents on software programs Wednesday.

The Foundation for a Free Information Structure (FFII), a lobbying group with wide support from European open-source community advocates, has reversed its position concerning a software patent bill after the European Parliament on Wednesday handed a surprise victory to the opponents of software patents.