EU, Microsoft Expect Ruling Next Month

The European Union and Microsoft Corp. are expecting a ruling this year on their five-year antitrust battle after the judge in the case said Thursday that he would continue to use evidence from two major backers of the EU that have defected.

Judge Bo Vesterdorf is expected to decide between Dec. 18 and 20 whether to suspend the EU order for Microsoft to change business practices and pay a fine of about $650 million, lawyers said.

Vesterdorf called a half-hour informal meeting at the European Court of First Instance on Thursday in the latest twist in the standoff between the executive commission of the 25-nation EU and the software giant.

The meeting focused on the decision by EU backers Novell Inc. and the Washington-based Computer and Communications Industry Assn. to pull out after reaching deals with Microsoft on Nov. 8.

The judge wanted to know to what extent, if any, the defections changed the case.

All sides agreed Thursday that the testimony of the companies would stand.

“We didn’t fight. We agreed this was the only way forward,” said lawyer Carlo Piana of the Free Software Foundation Europe, which backs the EU case.

“All the parties in the meeting agreed, as Microsoft has always maintained, that CCIA and Novell’s past testimony should remain on the record,” Microsoft spokesman Tom Brookes said.

Microsoft is hoping Vesterdorf will decide to suspend the EU ruling. The software giant would then press ahead with a full appeal to have it overturned.

“We look forward to the judge’s interim decision and more importantly moving on with the broader appeal of the commission’s case,” Brookes said. The case might still drag on for years.

In March, the European Commission fined Microsoft for abusively wielding its Windows software monopoly and ordered sanctions that go well beyond the U.S. antitrust settlement.