Microsoft may see its fortunes turn in Europe
heraldnet.com | at | by Mike
Is Microsoft Corp.'s string of legal triumphs about to end as the venue shifts to Europe? The software giant emerged virtually unscathed in November from an eight-year battle with U.S. federal and state authorities over how its violations of antitrust laws should be rectified. But it may not fare as well in another major antitrust case, now entering its final phase at European Union headquarters in Brussels. Much of the relevant law is tougher in Europe than in America. Also, the top European regulator, a silver-haired Italian economist named Mario Monti, is a formidable adversary whose past victims include General Electric's legendary former chairman Jack Welch.