OREANDA-NEWS. June 11, 2009. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) initiated a case against "Асеr Inc.", "ASUSTeK Computer Inc.", "Toshiba Corporation", "Hewlett-Packard Company", "Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd." and "Dell Inc." for violating Clause 5 Part 1 Article 11 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition".

FAS Russia suspects that laptop manufacturers violated the antimonopoly legislation by engaging in concerted actions: the companies pre-installed an operational system of the same vendors in the laptops bought mostly by the consumers that do not have a possibility to chose and buy the required laptop model without a pre-installed operational system, or do not have a possibility to refuse using the products (the Microsoft operational system) tied in with the purchase.

Currently the retail laptop market in the Russian Federation offers various laptop models, including "Асеr", "ASUS", "Toshiba", "hp", "Samsung", "Dell" brands, sold through retail chains. Those laptops are manufactured by such foreing companies as "Асеr Inc.", "ASUSTeK Computer Inc.", "Toshiba Corporation", "Hewlett-Packard Company", "Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd." and "Dell Inc." (further on referred to as the vendors), registered outside the Russian Federation.

Based on the information requested by FAS Russia from the Moscow offices of those companies, it is possible to conclude that over 90% of the laptops of the above brands are sold with a pre-installed operational system of "Microsoft Corporation".

Customers find out about possibility to return the operational system when they first turn on the laptop and boot the operational system. At this moment an end user licence agrement ("EULA") for using the operational system is downloaded; its terms and conditions do not tie in the operational system when the customer buys a laptop. The agreement specifies that if the customer does not wish to use the operational system, (s)he can find out from the laptop vendor about the procedures for returning the operational system and receiving compensation. Also "Microsoft Corporation" and PC vendors (including laptops) have direct sublicensing agreements, enabling laptop vendors to pre-install the "Windows" operational system on PC (laptops) manufactured by them and then license it to third persons. The agreement also formalises possibility to return a pre-installed, unactivated "Windows" operational system if the end user does not wish to use it, in which case "Microsoft Corporation" pays an appropriate compensation to the vendor (if the end user returns the software to the vendor). It implies well-established and duly exercised vendor's procedures for paying appropriate compensation to the end users.

In February-March 2009 FAS Russia carried out special inspections and found out that the representative offices of the companies - laptop vendors do not have the established procedures for returning a pre-installed, unactivated "Windows" operational system of "Microsoft Corporation" (Windows ХР, Windows Vista) by the end users with following compensation of its cost to the end users. The return procedures, used by АSUS, raise a number of questions about the period of their approval and carrying into effect, while Acer CIS Inc. presented its return procedures as a project put into effect on 1st May 2009.

The case against laptop vendors was initiated on the basis of the materials collected in course of the inspections, and the statement of Mr Alksnis, the Chairman of the Board of the "Free Technologies Centre" Regional Non-Governmental Organisation, as well as numerous petitions from physical persons.

"Microsoft Corporation" and the Information & Computer Technologies Industry Association (APKIT) are brought into the proceedings as third parties.

The antimonopoly case will be heard on 15th July 2009.