Microsoft files EU complaint over Motorola Mobility

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS |
Wed Feb 22, 2012 9:24pm IST

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – U.S. group Microsoft (MSFT.O) has asked the European Union to investigate U.S. phonemaker Motorola Mobility (MMI.N) for allegedly blocking sales of its products over patent disputes, stepping up its battle against internet group Google (GOOG.O).

Last week, the European Commission — the EU’s executive arm — and the U.S. Justice Department approved Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility.

“Earlier today, Microsoft filed a formal competition law complaint with the European Commission against Motorola Mobility,” Microsoft deputy general counsel Dave Heiner said in a blog post on Wednesday.

“We have taken this step because Motorola is attempting to block sales of Windows PCs, our Xbox game console and other products,” he said.

Antoine Colombani, a spokesman for EC competition affairs, said it had received the complaint and will examine it.

Heiner said Motorola had filed lawsuits in the United States and in Europe demanding Microsoft take its products off the market, or else remove their standards-based ability to play video and connect wirelessly.

“The only basis for these actions is that these products implement industry standards on which Motorola claims patents,” he said. “Motorola is on a path to use standard essential patents to kill video on the web, and Google, as its new owner, does not seem to be willing to change course.”

Google declined to comment. Motorola Mobility, which was not available for comment, makes cellphones and set-top boxes and does not compete in the market for game consoles and computer operating systems.

This was Microsoft’s second complaint with EU antitrust regulators involving Google. Last March, it accused the company of systematically thwarting rivals.

Microsoft was the target of antitrust action for two decades in Europe and the United States. EU regulators imposed fines of more than a billion euros on the company for breaching EU antitrust rules.

(Additional reporting by Sinead Carew in New York, Editing by Charlie Dunmore)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/INtechnologyNews/~3/TuFJvo387hs/microsoft-motorolamobility-eu-idINDEE81L0HB20120222

Tags: Latest Gadgets, Tech news