HP and Microsoft face EU antitrust lobby
it-analysis | at | by Mike
It seems as though certain IT vendors have a fondness for the courtroom. Microsoft has spent most of the last few years going backwards and forwards in an attempt to defend itself against the same old monopolistic allegations. The last 9 months have seen HP execs spend a fair amount of time in the courthouse defending the company's actions in the Compaq acquisition. Both companies are now coming under scrutiny of the European Union for antitrust issues.
Whilst the new HP is trying to shake off its 'printing' image for that of a professional services organisation, it is bizarre that the EU is investigating the company for anti-trust in the ink cartridges market. The printer and imaging division of HP makes nearly half of the group's revenues and supplies, such as printer cartridges, accounts for more than half of that division's sales. The issue the EU is contemplating is whether companies such as HP are forcing users to buy own-brand consumables rather than cheaper equivalents.