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Among the changes is reducing the royalties it asks for interoperability information on its Windows computer program to a "nominal" one-off payment of €10,000 (Bt478,000) for rival firms.

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes hailed the news as a "victory for the consumer".

Last month, the European Court of First Instance confirmed the European Commission's 2004 antitrust finding that Microsoft had used its ubiquitous Windows personal computer operating system to crush rivals in other linked markets, such as media players.

The court backed the Commission's imposition of a record fine of €497 million on the software giant.

A Microsoft spokesman told AFP that the company would not appeal the court decision, signally the end of the long legal saga.

"The European Commission has ensured that Microsoft will now take the necessary steps to comply with its obligations ... regarding work group server operating systems," including making interoperability information available to rival software companies, the EU's executive arm said in a statement.

On top of the Microsoft agreement that software developers "will be able to access and use the interoperability information", the royalties for a worldwide licence, including patents, will be reduced from 5.95 per cent to 0.4 per cent, the Commission announced.

"In these agreements between third party developers and Microsoft, Microsoft will guarantee the completeness and accuracy of the information provided," the statement said, adding that the accords will be enforceable in the London High Court, along with the Commission's own enforcement powers.

"I welcome that Microsoft has finally undertaken concrete steps to ensure full compliance with the 2004 decision," said Kroes.

"It is regrettable that Microsoft has only complied after a considerable delay, two court decisions and the imposition of daily penalty payments," she added.

The EU case goes back to March 2004 when the Commission ruled after a five-year probe that Microsoft had abused its share of the market for operating systems running personal computers thanks to its Windows program.

In particular, it accused Microsoft of using its stranglehold on PC operating systems to elbow rivals out of the more competitive markets for media players that play music and videos, and operating systems running back-office servers.

Brussels fined Microsoft a further €280 million in July 2006 after finding that it was not respecting its original ruling.

Kroes said no more fines would be incurred but could not tell reporters in Brussels how much, if anything, Microsoft was still deemed to owe for its infringements.

Photo AFP

Vocabulary

ruling, n: decision that must be obeyed and that is made by an official body of authority

to abuse, v: to use in a way other than intended and/or with negative consequences

royalties, n: money that is paid in exchange for permission to use somebody else's ideas or work

interoperability, n: ability to operate or interact with other machines

nominal, adj: showing a symbolic gesture but being too small to be of any real commercial value

to hail, v: to welcome; to greet

ubiquitous, adj: being everywhere; omnipresent

imposition, n: placing a burden, obligation or fine on somebody

to appeal, v: to officially object to a decision like a judgement by a court, resulting in a new court case or hearing

saga, n: very long story; event that carries on for a long time

Questions

1. What has the EU accused Microsoft of?

a. dissemination of malware

b. abrogation of technical innovation

c. counterfeiting proprietary software

d. abuse of dominant market position

2. How is Microsoft going to earn money for interoperability information?

a. fixed, annual charge

b. one single, limited charge

c. negotiable, unlimited charges

d. recurring, non-negotiable charges

3. How much is Microsoft's fine?

a. €10,000

b. €14,000

c. €497 million

d. €690 million

4. Why was Microsoft charged €280 million in 2006?

a. Microsoft had supplied faulty soft and hardware.

b. It did not respect the Commission's original ruling.

c. The Commission failed to receive royalties from Microsoft.

d. Microsoft operating system was missing a multimedia player.

5. When did the European Commission start investigating Microsoft?

a. 1999

b. 2004

c. 2006

d. 2007

Synonyms

Which of the following words or phrases replace the ones from the passage best?

1. substantial

a. minor

b. significant

c. unimportant

d. unnoticeable

2. dominant

a. local

b. partial

c. national

d. controlling

3. one-off

a. fixed

b. initial

c. single

d. mandatory

4. rival

a. founding

b. competing

c. connected

d. supporting

5. crush

a. buy up

b. sell out

c. suppress

d. investigate

KEY

Questions          1. d, 2. b, 3. c, 4. b, 5. a

Synonyms          1. b, 2. d, 3. c, 4. b, 5. c

By Ajarn Horst Baelz