REDMOND, Wash., June 27, 2004 — Microsofts request for a suspension of the Commissions remedies was filed with the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg on Friday, June 25. We believe that suspension is in order and is necessary as the remedies will not only hurt Microsoft, they will hurt many other software development companies and web site developers who have built products for the Windows platform. Most importantly, they will also harm consumers by limiting choice and degrading the usability of personal computers.
The Commissions case seeks to create new law that would chill innovation and economic growth. This new law is untested and it is prudent that the Commissions remedies be put on hold until the new legal principles have been fully assessed by the Court. The sweeping nature of the proposed sanctions reinforces this point. Once Microsoft releases software code under this decision, those intellectual property rights are lost forever, even if the Court grants our appeal. And once Microsoft releases a degraded product without media functionality into the market, you cannot pull the product back. Once IP is published and once products are released, they cannot be taken back.
In the interest of European consumers, software development companies and Web site developers, and to prevent irreversible changes in the market, we have requested that the Court suspend the remedies set out in the Commissions Decision pending the Court’s decision on the merits of Microsofts appeal.
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