The European Union`s (EU`s) court ruling against Microsoft will not affect the US software giant`s South African offerings, Microsoft SA says.
Mike Cathie, business and marketing officer for Microsoft SA says that while this country falls within the EMEA (European Middle-East and Africa) region of the country, the court ruling applies only to the physical area of the European Union.
"We will abide by that decision and should similar rulings be made in other countries, we will also follow them," he says.
The ruling is part of a lawsuit brought against Microsoft in opposition to it bundling its Media Player software with its Windows offerings. In March, the European Commission levied the highest recorded fine yet of $662 million as it said such bundling ran counter to competition laws. It will also have to share protocols with rival media players.
On Wednesday, Europe`s second highest court, The Court of the First Instance ruled that Microsoft had not demonstrated that it would suffer irreparable damage if it did not meet the deadline of selling a "stripped down" version of Windows without Media Player.
However, Microsoft has the right to appeal the case at the European Court of Justice, but this should take another three to eight months to finalise.
Cathie says that in Microsoft`s view the ruling strips out consumer choice as Europeans would now be paying the same price for Windows without Media Player.
"Media Player will continue to be given as a free download from the Microsoft.com site," he says.
Chances of a similar action being brought to a South African court is slim as Real Networks, the main protagonist in the European action, is not represented in this country.
"SA receives the international English versions of Microsoft`s products and these are not part of the European Union product suites," Cathie says.
Cathie says another effect of the European ruling is that local distributors may carry extra stocks of Windows so as to cater for firms and users that may wish to stick to it.
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