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Posted on 02/27/2003 11:48:28 AM PST by Dominic Harr
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. will cut software prices in Taiwan by a quarter to settle an investigation into unfair trade practices, the island's competition watchdog said on Thursday.
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It will also sell the components of its Office XP suite of software separately and share its closely guarded source code for the Windows operating system with the government, the cabinet's Fair Trade Commission said.
"Microsoft Taiwan's concrete action to lower prices of Microsoft products is exactly in line with the Fair Trade Commission's goals of maintaining orderly trade, consumer benefits, fair competition and economic prosperity," the Commission said in a statement.
It said Microsoft would cut prices by an average of 26.7 percent as part of a settlement to an investigation launched after a consumer backlash against government crackdowns on software piracy.
Consumers said they had been forced to turn to illegal copies because Microsoft had used its virtual monopoly to inflate prices.
They also complained that Microsoft forced buyers to purchase expensive bundles of software rather than picking only the products they desired.
The settlement requires Microsoft to sell the components of Office XP individually, including the widely-used Excel spreadsheet and Word word processor.
Microsoft will also share its Windows source code as part of its Government Security Program, which allows governments to adapt the software and test its ability to fend off hackers.
Russia was the first country to take advantage of the program in January. The source code -- blueprints of Microsoft's dominant operating systems -- is one of the world's most tightly protected corporate secrets.
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You can't have an 85% profit margin in a competitive 'free' market, it isn't possible. There will be pressure on price from competitors.
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