Submission + - Microsoft's Price Fixing: Slapped with 9mn Euros (cnet.com)
freakxx writes: "CNET reports that the Microsoft has been slapped with a fine of 9 million Euros by German regulators over illegally fixing the price of its Office-suit in an anticompetitive manner during a retail-promotion fair. According to a press release by the regulators:
"Even before the launch of the advertising campaign in mid-October 2008, employees of Microsoft and the retailer in question had agreed on at least two occasions on the resale price of the software package. Not every contact between supplier and retailer regarding resale prices constitutes an illegal concerted practice within the meaning of Section 1 ARC. However, this must not lead to a form of coordination where the supplier actively tries to coordinate the pricing activities of the retailer and thus retailer and supplier agree on future actions of the retailer. In the present case, this boundary has been crossed."
The Microsoft has accepted the fine and decided not to take this issue to any higher level."
"Even before the launch of the advertising campaign in mid-October 2008, employees of Microsoft and the retailer in question had agreed on at least two occasions on the resale price of the software package. Not every contact between supplier and retailer regarding resale prices constitutes an illegal concerted practice within the meaning of Section 1 ARC. However, this must not lead to a form of coordination where the supplier actively tries to coordinate the pricing activities of the retailer and thus retailer and supplier agree on future actions of the retailer. In the present case, this boundary has been crossed."
The Microsoft has accepted the fine and decided not to take this issue to any higher level."
