DoJ Prompts Protocol License Changes

To satisfy its antitrust settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), Microsoft will make it easier to get technical information about protocols that allow Windows desktop PCs to communicate and interoperate with Windows servers. The information could help organizations create applications that link Windows and non-Windows platforms, although licensing fees will still be required. This is the second set of settlement-related changes that Microsoft has agreed to in Apr. 2003 and suggests that ongoing oversight by regulators is having a significant effect. The move might also placate European Union (EU) antitrust regulators who are investigating how Microsoft licenses proprietary information.

Restrictions Meant Low Uptake

As part of its Dec. 2001 settlement with the DoJ, Microsoft initiated the Microsoft Communications Protocol Program (MCPP) in Aug. 2002. The program gives organizations access to detailed documentation on 113 proprietary protocols used by Windows client OSs to communicate or interoperate natively with Windows server OSs.