"We definitely want to settle. We just said it in court and I'll say it again." - Jean-Philippe Courtois, Microsoft's chief executive officer (CEO) for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)
Microsoft is holding out on hopes for a settlement with the EC over the sanctions ordered against it to correct its anticompetitive behaviour. It is currently appealing against the case also.
Last March, the EC (European Commission) ruled that Microsoft had abused its dominant position in the PC OS market to gain an unfair and uncompetitive advantage over competitors in related markets, such as media players. It ordered the company to pay a fine of €497 million, which is about $600 million. It was also ordered to create a version of the OS which had Windows Media Player decoupled and to release enough Windows source code that rivals could build competing server software that works well with Windows.
The fine (which is pocket change to Microsoft) and the decoupling of Windows Media Player do not really concern Microsoft, but they say that their freedom to innovate is being compromised through the ruling and that this a great cause of concern.