The Fair Trade Commission yesterday accepted a settlement from Microsoft Taiwan Corp to settle an unfair trade complaint whereby the company agreed to cut its software prices up to 54 percent.
The May 2002 suit alleged that Microsoft products were more expensive locally than in other countries.
"We reached a settlement today to ensure fair trade, to protect consumer interests and to help promote development in the local IT industry," Commission Vice Chairman Chen Chi-yuan (陳
Microsoft has consistently refused to admit its prices were exorbitant.
"We don't have any control over the final retail price consumers pay," Pamela Chang (張
It remains to be seen whether Microsoft's distributors will pass the price cuts on to consumers.
In the agreement, the company promised to cut the price of 13 software products by between 13.2 percent and 54.5 percent, starting March 15. The cost of one of the company's most popular products, Office XP Professional, would in theory be cut from NT$21,000 to NT$18,000.
In addition, Microsoft agreed to offer portions of its source code for the Windows operating system to the government and private companies so that they can develop their own products to work with Windows. However, the decision who to share the code with rests with Microsoft.
The company also said it would sell some products individually instead of bundling them together. Consumers have complained that the purchase of Word entailed buying an Office package that also includes Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
Reacting to the settlement, Consumers' Foundation (消
"The decision contains no directives to Microsoft," nor does it seek compensation for consumers who have been paying through the nose for their software, Cheng said. "Consumers' rights have been sacrificed by the commission," he said.
The commission conceded too much to Microsoft, particularly in allowing the company to maintain a fixed pricing policy, and is now locked into a binding agreement for five years, allowing Microsoft to continue to dominate the local market, Cheng said.
His biggest gripe against the decision was its lack of transparency.
"We don't know what kind of deal the two sides struck behind closed doors," he said.
Cheng demanded the commission make public details of the decision-making process.
The Chinese-language media has recently speculated that Microsoft threatened to withdraw a proposed research center from the country, forcing the commission to treat the company with kid gloves.
Under Taiwan's fair trade laws the head of a company can the head of a company can be jailed for up to three years and fined up to NT$100 million (US$2.89 million) if he is found guilty of abusing the company's market dominance.
The Consumers' Foundation is prepared to sue Microsoft for compensation if the company does not come up with a satisfactory offer first, Cheng said.
Last month, Microsoft agreed to pay US$1.1 billion in vouchers to consumers in California after losing a host of class-action law-suits in that state that alleged the company used its monopoly to overcharge for software.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source