The European Union said its antitrust regulators might need several weeks to decide whether to slap Microsoft with huge fines once a deadline for the software maker to comply with a landmark ruling expires tomorrow night.
Microsoft could face possible fines up to $5m daily if it does not comply with the EC rules.
The Commission fined the US software giant a record €497m in March last year and ordered it to change the way it does business.
Microsoft went to court to try to put off the remedy but lost. Microsoft must make its Windows operating system available without Windows Media Player, so computer makers could buy alternative software, to play films and music, from RealNetworks and Apple.
The company must also share information with rival makers of servers used to run printers and retrieve files. The company was also supposed to propose a trustee to monitor its compliance.
The Commission could fine Microsoft up to $5m daily for failure to comply with the sanctions imposed on it. But that would require it to open a special proceeding with charges and a decision by the Commission.
However, an EU spokesperson said today that the EU Commission might take several weeks to decide whether to slap Microsoft with huge fines and that the situation was complicated.
Both sides worked over the weekend to reach a compromise and Microsoft said today it working hard to co-operate with the Commission.
