General Court (Grand Chamber) 17 September 2007, T-201/04 (Microsoft Corp. v Commission of the European Communities.)

Also known as

The Court of First Instance largely upheld a Commission decision finding that Microsoft Corp. abused its dominant position by refusing to supply interoperability information and by tying Windows Media Player to its client PC operating system. While confirming the Commission's findings on the merits and the imposition of a EUR 497 million fine, the Court annulled the provision requiring an independent monitoring trustee with autonomous investigative powers and the authority to charge costs to the undertaking. The judgment clarifies that while the Commission may require remedies to restore competition, it cannot delegate its own enforcement and investigation powers to a third party without a specific legal basis.AI