Microsoft Says Progress Made in EU Case

Microsoft Corp. said Friday that it had achieved a breakthrough in its antitrust case with the European Union after an independent monitor outlined what it could do to stave off daily fines of $2.4 million.

EU officials and Microsoft rivals, however, expressed doubts.

“Two years on, Microsoft’s technical documentation remains incomplete, inaccurate and unusable,” a coalition of software companies, the European Committee for Interoperable Systems, said.

Microsoft lawyer Brad Smith told reporters that he was “very encouraged” by professor Neil Barrett’s plan and said it was the most positive step since December, when the company was threatened with the fines.

“It finally gives us the kind of specificity and clarity that we need ... to move all these issues forward,” Smith said after the final day of hearings.

That hearing was the Redmond, Wash., company’s final chance to defend itself before the EU makes a decision on fines.

Microsoft insists that it has gone beyond its obligations to comply with the EU’s 2004 antitrust order.

EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said the company still had not adequately shared technical information with rivals so that they could make software compatible with Microsoft’s Windows computer operating system.