Microsoft Officially Drops EU Appeals

As expected following news Monday that Microsoft would finally comply with the European Union's requirement that it make parts of its Windows source code available for distribution to developers, the Redmond company has officially dropped its appeal of the original 2004 antitrust ruling, as well as an appeal of the fine imposed in July 2006.

Seemingly eager to put the matter behind the company once and for all, Microsoft says it paid that fine of 280.5 million euros in October 2006. Microsoft had also appealed a provision of the 2004 decision that required it to freely open certain Windows protocols to open source developers, but that effort was struck down last month, leading the company to file another appeal. The company said that appeal was now unnecessary due to the deal with the EU Commission announced Monday.