Microsoft girds for EU hearings
SeattlePI | at | by Mike
Microsoft will undertake a last-ditch effort today to avoid harsh penalties in Europe for alleged monopolistic behavior that could force it to change the way it sells its ubiquitous Windows software.
Yet beyond the fireworks expected as the software giant faces off with its critics during three days of hearings, Microsoft's underlying aim is likely to be sniffing out the remaining prospects for a settlement with the European Union.
"I think there'll be quite a lot of grandstanding, with a view on Microsoft's part to achieve a negotiated settlement," said Martin Baker, chief antitrust lawyer at Taylor Wessing in London. "They're going to want to limit the economic impact."