Diary of a Network Geek

The trials and tribulations of a Certified Novell Engineer who's been stranded in Houston, Texas.

3/2/2004

Microsoft Violating Japanese Anti-Trust Laws?

Filed under: Criticism, Marginalia, and Notes,Geek Work,News and Current Events — Posted by the Network Geek during the Hour of the Hare which is in the early morning or 7:01 am for you boring, normal people.
The moon is Waxing Gibbous

Possibly.

According to this article on Australian IT, Micro$oft’s Japanese headquarters were raided last week on the suspicion of violating Japanese anti-trust laws. The Japanese Fair Trade Commission apparently sent a warning to Micro$oft’s HQ in Tokyo regarding certain statements in their license agreement that were deemed a violation of Japanese law. Namely, they have a clause prohibiting Japanese companies from suing Micro$oft for any real or percieved copyright infringements. Yow! That’s a nasty one! Remember, those Japanese companies that are prohibited from sueing include giants like NEC, Fujitsu, Matsushita, Hitachi and Sony, all of whom make computer hardware and drivers for it. According to the article, “A spokesman for the Japanese unit, Microsoft Co, confirmed the raid but declined to comment further.”

Not sure how this one will turn out, but it’s a good one to watch, eh?


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