2007年VOA标准英语-European Court Upholds Key Antitrust Ruling Aga

By Teri Schultz
Brussels
17 September 2007

Microsoft Corporation suffered a major legal setback¹ Monday when a European Union court rejected the software giant's appeal of a 2004 anti trust ruling. The court also upheld a record fine of more than $600 million which Microsoft has now been ordered to pay. Microsoft has not yet decided² whether to appeal the new ruling. Teri Schultz reports from Brussels.

Microsoft had asked the court to overturn a 2004 European Commission ruling that found the U.S. software giant abused its dominant³ market position by automatically including its media player in every Windows operating system.

But the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg agreed with the Commission ruling that Microsoft's actions had prevented other manufacturers from selling their media players to Windows users.

The Court said Microsoft must offer versions of Windows that do not contain a media player. European Union Competition Commissioner⁴ Neelie Kroes expressed satisfaction at the ruling.

Neelie Kroes, 17 Sep 2007

"The court has again confirmed the importance of consumer choice," said Neelie Kroes. "MS [Microsoft] cannot abuse its Windows monopoly to exclude competitors in other markets."

But despite winning the nearly decade old battle and solidifying⁵ the Commission's right to regulate powerful companies, Kroes said she had mixed emotions.

"It is bittersweet, bittersweet, because the court has confirmed that consumers are suffering at the hands of Microsoft," she said.

Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith expressed disappointment at the ruling, but said it could have been worse.

"The decision is not what we had hoped for and to say anything else would be less than candid," said Brad Smith. "But it does provide us with some new clarity."

Smith says the company intends to comply fully⁶ with the 2004 Commission judgment⁷ that was at issue. He says he's pleased the Court is requiring that they simply offer an alternative version of Windows without a player - which already exists - and not to stop selling the complete version.

The second part of the ruling, which mandates⁸ Microsoft servers must be interoperable with all other systems', is more complex because of the valuable intellectual property involved. However, Smith said, Microsoft has already made progress in increasing interoperability and will continue working on it.

Experts said the outcome of this case would be a defining moment in the relationship between government regulators and fast-moving high-tech⁹ industry. Smith agrees with that assessment¹⁰, acknowledging the Commission had been awarded what he called "broad power" and "broad discretion¹¹."

"This decision will occupy - as it should - the thoughts and discussion of many people, not just in the weeks ahead but in the months and years to follow," he said. "It is one of these decisions that has that kind of extraordinary impact."

1 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 solidifying   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的现在分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• The substances are formed from a mixture of liquids solidifying under pressure. 这些材料是由几种液体混合在一起并加压使之凝固而成的。
• Painting is an art solidifies time and space for solidifying. 绘画是凝固了的时间和空间的艺术。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

8 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

9 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

10 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

11 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。