A South Korean court on Tuesday rejected Microsoft Corp.'s request for a stay of execution of a sanction that the nation's antitrust regulator imposed on the U.S.
software giant late last year.
The Seoul High Court said the decision by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to impose restrictions prior to the resolution of the legal standoff did not jeopardize Microsoft's management.
Microsoft applied for a stay of execution earlier in the year after the FTC ordered the U.S. software giant to strip popular software from its nearly ubiquitous Windows operating systems on December 7, 2005. The FTC said that since the trial could take more than one year, it is imperative to impose corrective measures to protect consumers and competitors.
The antitrust watchdog ordered Microsoft to separate its MSN messenger and Media Player programs from Windows, accusing the company of compromising fair competition. The FTC also ordered Microsoft to pay 32.4 billion won (US$34.3 million) in fines.
The court rejection comes in the wake of a European Union (EU) court's decision to throw out a similar appeal by Microsoft. The European court said the EU competition committee decision to impose sanctions were legitimate and did not infringe on the software giant's rights.
Seoul, July 4 (Yonhap News)
S. Korean court throws out Microsoft's request |
