BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said Friday it had asked U.S. Federal courts to force IBM, Sun Microsystems Inc, Oracle Corp and Novell Inc to give it documents in its battle against the European Commission.
Microsoft is fighting a fine of up to 2 million ($2.4 million) a day for failing to carry out sanctions that the Commission, the European Union's executive arm, imposed on it in 2004 for violating EU antitrust laws.
Microsoft (Research) had asked the EU executive to turn over communications between the companies and the Commission, a "Monitoring Trustee" in the case, and a technical adviser to the Commission known as OTR.
Microsoft says it needs those documents for its defense against the fine.
"This evidence could also be important for Microsoft if the Commission imposes penalties for non-compliance (with the sanctions and) is forced to appeal to the European Court of First Instance and the European Court of Justice," the company said.
A European Commission spokesman had no comment.
Microsoft also argued that the court decision would be "entirely consistent with the Commission's stated policy of transparency."
However, an independent hearing officer for the Commission found otherwise.
Hearing Officer Karen Williams ordered some documents turned over to Microsoft, but found others to be internal Commission documents under the Commissions rules and its rulings.
Microsoft, citing a law that allows U.S. courts to order companies to turn over evidence for use in foreign and international tribunals, said it had filed papers in San Jose, California, New York and Boston.
"A court has broad discretion to grant discovery," Microsoft said in its filing with a court in Boston.
The Commission found in 2004 that Microsoft used its dominant position in the Windows operating system to damage rival makers of work group server software, used to run printers, password sign-ins and file access for small work groups.
Microsoft was fined 497 million and ordered to provide interconnections so competitors could get their server software, as well as Microsoft's own, with Windows desktop machines.
Microsoft appealed -- that case is to be heard by a court in Luxembourg in April -- but in the meantime the Commission said the company has not carried out the sanctions.
Before the hearing on the main case, the Commission will conduct a closed administrative hearing on March 30 and 31 on the fine.
