Court rules Microsoft must divulge secrets

[oddcrap]

BRUSSELS, Belgium ? A European Union court ruled Wednesday that Microsoft Corp. must immediately divulge some trade secrets to competitors and produce a version of its flagship Windows operating system stripped of the program that plays music and video. The 91-page ruling effectively thwarts Microsoft's attempt to delay, pending appeal, implementation of the EU's landmark antitrust decision in March that demanded changes in the software giant's business practices. The implications for Microsoft are huge, though the company did not immediately disclose whether it intended to offer a version of Windows without the Media Player in Europe alone or more broadly. Software that plays media files is increasingly in demand as more consumers get broadband connections to the Internet and use their PCs as entertainment centres. There is also the question of precisely what computer code Microsoft will share with competitors so that those companies' programs work better on networks run by Microsoft server software. The Luxembourg-based European Court of First Instance found that Microsoft "has not shown that it might suffer serious and irreparable damage as a result of implementation of the contested decision," the court said. "Microsoft's application for interim measures is therefore dismissed in its entirety," said the president of the court, Judge Bo Vesterdorf. The EU was buoyant since its ruling was fully upheld and would force immediately compliance from Microsoft.