The Redmond-based software behemoth was going to discuss its Internet Explorer Web browser after the European Commission charged that Microsoft's inclusion of IE in Windows was breaking competition laws in Europe.

The EC brought the case against Microsoft after Opera Software ASA, the Norway-based company behind the Internet browser Opera, filed a complaint with the commission in December 2007, saying Microsoft was being anticompetitive.

Opera's complaint alleged ongoing competitive harm from Microsoft's practices. In addition to tying in Internet Explorer, other software inclusions, such as desktop search and Windows Live, have also been brought to the attention of the EC.

Microsoft, however, states that its integration of the IE browser into Windows is regulated by European law, and computer users can choose Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, or Opera as browsers that run on Windows.

Timing Not Perfect

The hearing, scheduled to begin June 3, 2009, was canceled after Microsoft realized that the commission's senior regulators -- who would weigh in heavily on the case -- would not be present because the hearing coincided with an intergovernmental competition law meeting, the International Competition Network.

"As a result, it appears that many of the most influential commission and national competition officials with the greatest interest in our case will be in Zurich and so unable to attend our hearing in Brussels," blogged Dave Heiner, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel.

Heiner said the company spoke out about the scheduling conflict with the commission and asked the commission to consider other dates.

"We pointed out that there's no legal or other reason that the hearing needs to be held the first week of June," he said. "We believe that holding the hearing at a time when key officials are out of the country would deny Microsoft our effective right to be heard and hence deny our 'rights of defense' under European law."

Microsoft said it had no additional comment beyond Heiner's blog posting, according to a spokesperson.

Request Denied

The commission, according to Microsoft, denied the company the opportunity to have a hearing during a different week because it said no other suitable room was available.

"Thus, the Commission has declined to reschedule the hearing despite our offer to find and outfit a suitable room ourselves at another time," Heiner said.

Once Microsoft was denied a different hearing date, the company decided to take matters into its own hands, telling the commission that it will not proceed with the scheduled hearing.

As a result of Microsoft's unwillingness to back down from requesting a different hearing date, the commission hearing officer has deemed Microsoft to have withdrawn its request for a hearing.