Microsoft and the Commission - the next round

Only those of us on Mars could fail to be aware of the ongoing hearing in the Court of First Instance where Microsoft are seeking to annul the 2004 Commission finding that Microsoft has abused a dominant position in respect of failing to share operating systems information, and bundling in relation to Media Player.

The hearing is inevitably proving somewhat fraught for those involved, according to press reports. We await with interest any reasoned analysis on the relationship between article 82 and IP rights. Questions of market definition, what IS abuse, and the importance of IP (shoudn't the Commission have said more than just requring a payment if its order involved a sharing of IP?) could, and should, be answered.