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You miss a point here teachsac. The US courts decided this suite against M$ before the EU met and decided the same thing. The EU took their stance with the knowledge that the US courts were going to hold M$ to some responsiblity.

In this issue the HD-DVD camp has already lost its bid in the US courts. You are looking for the EU to come to a decision that is oposite of the decision of the US courts. I don't see that happening and even if they do they have no jurisdiction over a US company.

If the EU did decide that the HD-DVD camp request has merit the only way they could force a US company to do something that the US court system will not force them to do is file a lawsuit in the World Court. This would pit EU lawmakers against US lawmakers. Who do you think will win here? This is the US and our government is not going to allow another government to dictate to a US company how they can and can not do business. This is unheard of and has never happened in the history of this county.

This would start a legal battle over imports that would escalate to covering most everything any company in any country wanted to import. You really think the EU is ready to start this type of import war? Especially one they could not win? The only course for the EU if they decide in HD-DVD's favor is to censor sale of BluRay product in the EU. That would start an import war of another kind. Especially with the price fixing of Toshiba's players. Where is the suit by the BluRay camp on this issue -- something the courts would listen too?

Oh I forgot, this is the United States of America -- a land of free commerce where you can set your selling price at anything you want to except for undercutting the market or price gouging -- what?

Not unprecedented. Ask Google, Apple, Universal Music Group, and EMI. Under articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty of Rome "Market sharing, exclusive marketing and other anti-competitive practices may be exempt from competition law if the behaviour increases consumer benefits or technical progress." Both camps would fall under this. As for Microsoft, The US court influenced the final EU decision as the EU copyright law was shot down for competition.

teachsac said:

Not unprecedented. Ask Google, Apple, Universal Music Group, and EMI. Under articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty of Rome "Market sharing, exclusive marketing and other anti-competitive practices may be exempt from competition law if the behaviour increases consumer benefits or technical progress." Both camps would fall under this. As for Microsoft, The US court influenced the final EU decision as the EU copyright law was shot down for competition.

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Where is the 'exclusive marketing' being provided by the BluRay group? You can buy movies in HD-DVD and purchase HD-DVD players. There is no monopoly either implied or actual in the high def movie distribution. Both camps distrubute movies in their respective formats and not in each others -- save for the 3 studios supporting both sides. If the EU decides to look into how the BluRay group signed up all those studios they would have to look at how and why M$ dollars are finding their way into Universal's and Toshiba's pockets.

I believe the WSJ article implied this as a no win situation for the HD-DVD group. Bottom line is it is not going to help HD-DVD in disc sales in the immediate timeframe. But the article in the WSJ just might push a few CEOs to lean their companies towards BluRay in an effort to shorten this war. Is the EU the going to take on BlockBuster, BestBuy, Sears, and any other retailer that decides to just do Blu in the future? I don't believe this is a can of worms the EU wants to open no matter what they say.

Well they may not be able to force HD-DVDs, but they could simply not allow the companies in question to do business in the EU. A very large market to be locked out of. But, of course this would take years and I doubt anything would come out of it since the war would probably be over by then.

Yep. Tempest in a teapot. Politicians posturing for voters- or is it pandering? Knowing full well it will all be for naught.