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It seems that Microsoft is worried that some Asian countries are not playing the software game according to rules that Microsoft thinks are fair. Not long ago, the governments of China, Japan and Korea announced plans to “codevelop an open-source operating system to replace Microsoft Windows.” These governments, thinking that over-reliance on software produced by a foreign company is not in their national interests, have banded together to create an alternative where there currently is none. Microsoft is naturally less than pleased.

Microsoft: Asia not playing fair over OS

“We’d like to see the market decide who the winners are in the software industry,” said Tom Robertson, Microsoft’s Tokyo-based director for government affairs in Asia.

Then, in an unrelated article, Microsoft shows a somewhat different attitude. Microsoft is preparing to release a new version of its dominant Office software, which includes new features that control how documents created in Office can be used. Although there are significant security reasons for introducing this new technology (called ”Information Rights Management,” or IRM for short), it is also widely believed that this technology will be the first step toward locking users into an all-Microsoft system, presumably forever.

New Office locks down documents

“When you dominate a market, you change that market,” Rosoff said. “Office already has all the document management features people could possibly want. The only way to add value to Office is to make it part of this larger system that adds value.”

So on one hand we should allow the market to make our decisions about what software to use, but on the other hand we are expected to acknowledge that Microsoft dominates the market, effectively precluding any other choices. Translation: You Asians have no right not to buy our software. We own the market, fair and square. Now pay up.

That would be fine, I guess, if you excluded the fact that Microsoft’s domination of the market has been anything but fair. You would have to overlook, for example, the ruling in that Microsoft has abused its monopoly in the United States and that the company is currently being sued in Europe for similar misbehavior.

So my question for Microsoft (or anyone who cares to answer) is simple: What recourse do governments have to rectify markets that are unfairly dominated?

Perhaps Microsoft would prefer to be sued instead. The company has shown a remarkable willingness to settle disputes, so long as it is allowed to continue doing business the way it always has. (Recently with Be OS.) If history has shown us anything, it is that Microsoft hates competition. Anything is preferable to a competitor, even a lawsuit (deep-pocketed Microsoft’s favorite tar baby).

I hope these countries will remain firm in their resolve, because what Asia needs is a bit of competition, not more Microsoft Dominance™.