BRUSSELS -- The European Commission said on Monday its own investigation into alleged antitrust violations by Microsoft would continue whatever was decided in a separate U.S. investigation.
Washington District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is due to announce later on Monday whether the software giant violated U.S. antitrust laws. This follows the collapse of settlement talks between Microsoft and the Justice Department on Saturday.
The Commission, the antitrust watchdog in the 15-nation European Union, said it would announce its reaction to the ruling Tuesday but an official stressed its own investigations were "quite separate."
The Commission said in February it had begun its own probe into whether Microsoft's (MSFT) recently launched Windows 2000 operating system broke EU competition rules.
EU Competition commissioner Mario Monti said the EU executive was reacting to allegations that Windows 2000 could give the company a stranglehold over server software and ultimately e-commerce.
Monti said that end-users, small computer businesses and competitors complained that Microsoft had bundled its personal computer operating system with its own server software and other Microsoft software products, known as middleware "in a way which permits only Microsoft products to be fully interoperable."
If the allegations against Microsoft are proven, the Commission could force it to make changes to Windows 2000.
Under EU rules, if the company refused to come into line, it could then face fines of up to 10 percent of its worldwide revenues, although such a large fine has never been levied.
The Commission's probe is likely to last for several months, and may not mark the end of the company's problems in Europe.
The day after his announcement, Monti's spokesman confirmed the Commission had other investigations pending involving the company, but declined to give further details.
The Commission has stressed throughout that its inquiries are completely separate from those in the United States, although both relate to the alleged abuse of a dominant market position.
The Commission has already tussled several times with Microsoft in the past. In 1998, it forced the company to alter contracts with European Internet service providers and recently reopened a probe into Microsoft's pricing policy in France.
This followed an EU court ruling that the Commission was wrong to have rejected a complaint from French software wholesaler Micro Leader Business, which was trying to import cheaper products from Canada.
In the United States last year, Jackson issued findings of fact that Microsoft abused monopoly power in personal computer operating systems, and will rule Monday whether this abuse amounted to a violation of the law.
If he rules against Microsoft -- as is widely expected -- Jackson will go on to consider what remedies he should impose to prevent future abuses of monopoly power.
Microsoft officials have made it clear that whatever the judge rules they are prepared to carry out the case as far as necessary -- including appeals -- where they hope to receive vindication.
