82 linhas
2.7 KiB
HTML
82 linhas
2.7 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
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<html newsdate="2009-10-08">
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<head>
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<title>
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Microsoft settlement leaves Free Software in the cold
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</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>Microsoft settlement leaves Free Software in the cold</h1>
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<p newsteaser="yes">
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The European Commission yesterday announced a preliminary
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agreement with Microsoft. The deal is supposed to settle an
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antitrust investigation about the company's dominant position in
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the web browser market. The Commission is also ready to strike
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a deal on interoperability. The goal is to allow rival products
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to work with Microsoft's applications on the desktop.
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</p>
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<p>
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FSFE commends Commissioner Neelie Kroes and the European
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Commission on their effort to bring more competition to the
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European software market. Though clearly negotiated under some
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time pressure, parts of the agreement are better than Microsoft's
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previous proposals.
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</p>
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<p>
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While FSFE's input as a steadfast defender of software freedom
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over the past seven years has helped to bring about some
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improvements on details of the browser selection screen, the
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updated agreement proposed by Microsoft does not address the
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legitimate concerns of the Free Software community.
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</p>
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<p>
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Karsten Gerloff, FSFE's President, says: "In its current form,
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Microsoft's proposal has many loopholes for the convicted
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monopolist to slip through. The lack of a monitoring system leaves
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Free Software projects out in the cold. There is no clear
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commitment from Microsoft to adhere to web standards in the
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future, nor to end the company's habit of adding proprietary
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extensions to standards."
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</p>
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<p>
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In order to fend off another possible investigation by the
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European Commission, Microsoft is also offering a set of promises
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to let rival programs work with some of its desktop applications
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such as Outlook and Sharepoint. Yet Free Software projects, which
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are often the strongest competitors to the company's offerings,
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will not be able to use the patent licence proposed by Microsoft.
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</p>
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<p>
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FSFE's legal counsel Carlo Piana says: "We are disappointed that
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major issues for Free Software and other small, innovative players
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remain unaddressed. Private enforcement is out of reach for them.
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This is a missed opportunity to break new ground in antitrust
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enforcement."
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</p>
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<p>
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FSFE will analyse Microsoft's proposed commitment in detail in the
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coming weeks and provide feedback to the Commission. Our goal is
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to help shape a deal for a sustainable, interoperable and
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competitive future.
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</p>
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag>Policy</tag>
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<tag content="European Commission">EuropeanCommission</tag>
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<tag>Microsoft</tag>
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<tag>Antitrust</tag>
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</tags>
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<timestamp>$Date$ $Author$</timestamp>
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</html>
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