EU court dismisses Microsoft antitrust appeal
Legal World
Microsoft's appeal of the record €497 million fine imposed on it by EU regulators was comprehensively rejected by Europe's second-highest court Monday.
In a landmark ruling, the European Union's Court of First Instance backed the European Commission's 2004 decision to fine Microsoft and order the software giant to change its Windows operating system to make it more compatible with rival systems.
The 248-page judgment comes after nine years of legal wrangling over Microsoft's near-monopoly of the software market and its ability to muscle rivals out of the market.
The ruling's immediate impact probably is negligible because Microsoft already had paid the $613 million fine and, as ordered years ago, has been selling a version of its Windows software without the Media Player that has been the focus of complaints for about a decade.
Broadly, though, some observers worry about an EU that might be too quick to overregulate free markets, especially with Apple scheduled this week to defend its dominant iTunes online music store from complaints that sound similar to those leveled against Microsoft.
EU regulators also are looking at the way Intel prices its microchips and are mulling the proposed Google acquisition of DoubleClick.
Such concerns of overregulation prompted Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Barnett to warn Monday that the Microsoft ruling, "rather than helping consumers, may have the unfortunate consequence of harming consumers by chilling innovation and discouraging competition."
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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.