Microsoft to license protocols to rivals
InformationWeek | at | by Mike
Microsoft said Thursday it will for the first time license protocols in its instant messaging, e-mail, and collaboration technologies to rivals so that they could create programs that work smoothly with the company's server software.
The move could be seen as a bid by the Redmond, Wash. software developer to placate antitrust regulators in Europe, where competitors continue to file complaints with the European Union's watchdog agency. Just last week, IBM, Sun, and other rivals that make up the European Committee for Interoperable Standards sent a letter to the EU's Competition Commission charging that Windows Vista violates EU antitrust law.