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PARALLEL TEXTS
L’acquisizione di Skype da parte di Microsoft è compatibile con il mercato interno
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-156_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-156_it.htm
Data documento: 11-12-2013
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Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype is compatible with the internal market
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L’acquisizione di Skype da parte di Microsoft è compatibile con il mercato interno
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The merger does not restrict competition either on the consumer video communications market or on the business video communications market
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Tale fusione non restringe la concorrenza né nel mercato delle videochiamate per il grande pubblico né in quello delle comunicazioni per le imprese
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Skype provides internet-based communications services and software enabling instant messaging and voice and video communications.
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La società Skype fornisce servizi e software di comunicazione via Internet per messaggistica istantanea e per chiamate audio e videochiamate.
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Microsoft is a United States company whose activities relate essentially to the design, development and sale of computer software and the supply of related services which include internet-based communications services and software offered to both the general public and business users.
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Microsoft è una società americana le cui attività consistono essenzialmente nella concezione, nello sviluppo e nella vendita di software e nella prestazione di servizi connessi che includono software e servizi di comunicazione via Internet rivolti sia al grande pubblico sia agli utenti professionali.
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In September 2011, Microsoft notified to the Commission the concentration by which it intended to acquire control of Skype.
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Nel settembre 2011 Microsoft ha notificato alla Commissione l’intenzione di acquisire il controllo di Skype.
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Cisco and Messagenet, companies which supply internet-based communications services and software to undertakings and the general public respectively, submitted observations to the Commission by which they sought to demonstrate the anti-competitive effects that the planned merger would have.
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La Cisco e la Messagenet, società che forniscono servizi e software di comunicazione via Internet, rispettivamente, per le imprese ed il grande pubblico, hanno presentato alla Commissione osservazioni volte a dimostrare gli effetti anticoncorrenziali che la prevista fusione avrebbe causato.
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In October 2011, the Commission none the less declared that concentration to be compatible with the internal market.
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Nell’ottobre 2011 la Commissione ha tuttavia dichiarato tale concentrazione compatibile con il mercato interno.
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Cisco and Messagenet then brought an action before the General Court for annulment of the Commission’s decision.
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La Cisco e la Messagenet hanno successivamente presentato dinanzi al Tribunale un ricorso diretto all’annullamento della decisione della Commissione.
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In its judgment delivered today, the Court notes, first of all, that the Commission confined itself in its decision to differentiating internet-based communications for the general public (‘consumer communications’) from communications for businesses (‘enterprise communications’) without adopting a position on whether it was necessary to identify, within the category of consumer communications, the existence of narrower reference markets.
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Nella sua odierna sentenza il Tribunale constata, innanzi tutto, che nella sua decisione la Commissione si è limitata a distinguere le comunicazioni via Internet per il grande pubblico («comunicazioni per il grande pubblico ») dalle comunicazioni per le imprese, senza esprimersi sulla questione se occorresse identificare, all’interno della categoria delle comunicazioni per il grande pubblico, l’esistenza di mercati di riferimento più ristretti.
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The Commission found that the concentration did not give rise to competition concerns even on the narrowest markets.
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Essa ha infatti ritenuto che la concentrazione non sollevasse problemi di concorrenza neppure sui mercati più ristretti.
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In that context, the Court takes the view that, even if the acquisition of Skype enables Microsoft to hold an 80 to 90% share of a segment of consumer communications, corresponding to video communications made on Windows-based PCs, the operating system developed by Microsoft, the high market shares and high degree of concentration on that segment of the market are not indicative of a degree of market power which would enable Microsoft to significantly harm effective competition in the internal market.
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In tale contesto, il Tribunale ritiene che, sebbene l’acquisizione di Skype permetta a Microsoft di detenere una quota di mercato dall’80 al 90% di un segmento delle comunicazioni per il grande pubblico, corrispondente alle videochiamate effettuate da PC funzionanti con Windows (sistema operativo sviluppato da Microsoft), le quote di mercato e il livello di concentrazione elevati in tale segmento del mercato non sono indicativi di un potere di mercato che consenta a Microsoft di nuocere in modo significativo alla concorrenza effettiva nel mercato interno.
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The consumer communications sector is a recent and fast-growing sector characterised by short innovation cycles in which large market shares may turn out to be ephemeral.
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Il settore delle comunicazioni per il grande pubblico è, infatti, recente ed in piena espansione, caratterizzato da cicli di innovazione brevi e nel quale quote di mercato cospicue possono rivelarsi effimere.
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Moreover, Microsoft, which has traditionally held a very large share of the PC software market, is less present on new operating devices, such as tablets and smartphones, which are becoming increasingly important on the consumer communications market.
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Inoltre Microsoft, che detiene tradizionalmente una quota molto ampia sul mercato dei software per PC, è meno presente nelle nuove piattaforme informatiche, come i tablet e gli smartphone, la cui importanza non cessa di aumentare nel mercato delle comunicazioni per il grande pubblico.
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Any attempt to increase prices of communications for users of PCs might encourage them to switch to alternative devices.
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Orbene, qualsiasi tentativo di aumentare i prezzi delle comunicazioni per gli utilizzatori di PC potrebbe indurli a rivolgersi a piattaforme alternative.
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Furthermore, since services on that market are usually provided for free, a commercial policy of making users pay would run the risk of encouraging users to switch to other providers continuing to offer their services free of charge.
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Peraltro, dato che, di norma, i servizi in tale mercato non sono a pagamento, una politica commerciale diretta a far pagare gli utenti rischierebbe di dirottarli verso altri fornitori che continuino a offrire gratuitamente i loro servizi.
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The Court notes also that, on devices other than Windows-based PCs, competing operators of Microsoft have sufficiently large market shares to constitute communication networks whose level of use and attractiveness for users are at least comparable to those of Skype and Microsoft, taken together.
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Il Tribunale constata altresì che, sulle piattaforme diverse dai PC che funzionano con Windows, gli operatori concorrenti di Microsoft detengono quote di mercato sufficientemente significative da costituire reti di comunicazione che presentano un grado di utilizzo ed un’attrattiva per gli utenti per lo meno analoghi a quelli di Skype e Microsoft considerati congiuntamente.
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In those circumstances, and in the light of Cisco and Messagenet’s failure to demonstrate that the concentration might harm competition on the consumer communications market, the Court concludes that, as regards that market, the merger under examination is compatible with the EU competition rules.
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Pertanto, e considerato che la Cisco e la Messagenet non sono state in grado di dimostrare che la concentrazione potesse pregiudicare la concorrenza nel mercato delle comunicazioni per il grande pubblico, il Tribunale conclude che, per quanto attiene a tale mercato, la fusione è compatibile con le regole di concorrenza dell’Unione.
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Next, the Court rejects the argument of Cisco and Messagenet that, as a result of that concentration, Microsoft would be able to reserve to its product on the enterprise communications market, Lync, preferential interoperability with Skype and with Skype’s large user base, to the detriment of its competitors.
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Il Tribunale respinge poi l’argomento della Cisco e della Messagenet secondo cui, grazie a tale concentrazione, Microsoft potrebbe riservare al suo prodotto nel mercato delle comunicazioni per le imprese (Lync), un’interoperabilità preferenziale con Skype e con la sua vasta base di utenti, a discapito dei suoi concorrenti.
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In that regard, the Court points out, first, that a concentration may be declared incompatible with the internal market only if it harms competition in a direct and immediate manner.
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A questo proposito, il Tribunale ricorda, in primo luogo, che una concentrazione può essere dichiarata incompatibile con il mercato interno solo se nuoce in modo diretto ed immediato alla concorrenza.
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The attainment of interoperability between Lync and Skype and the successful marketing of the new product resulting from this – which might, in theory, enable Microsoft to restrict competition – still depend on a series of factors in relation to which it is not certain that they might all occur in a sufficiently near future.
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Orbene, la realizzazione dell’interoperabilità di Lync con Skype ed il successo della commercializzazione del nuovo prodotto che ne costituisce il risultato - che potrebbero, in linea teorica, consentire a Microsoft di restringere la concorrenza - dipendono ancora da una serie di fattori che non è certo possano tutti prodursi in un futuro sufficientemente prossimo.
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Second, the Court states that the precise advantages of and the real demand for such a product are vague.
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In secondo luogo, il Tribunale dichiara che i precisi vantaggi e l’effettiva domanda di un tale prodotto restano vaghi.
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In that regard, the Court notes that undertakings potentially interested by an integrated communications tool wish primarily to communicate with consumers of their products and services and not with users of Skype, who are not necessarily their current or potential customers.
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Le imprese eventualmente interessate ad uno strumento di comunicazione integrato desiderano in primis comunicare con i consumatori dei loro prodotti e dei loro servizi e non con gli utenti di Skype, i quali non sono necessariamente loro clienti attuali o potenziali.
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In addition, Skype does not allow undertakings to canvass actively its users, who normally use a pseudonym, and who can be contacted only with their prior authorisation.
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Oltretutto, Skype non consente alle imprese di rivolgere attivamente proposte commerciali ai suoi utenti, i quali si servono di norma di uno pseudonimo e possono essere contattati unicamente previa la loro autorizzazione.
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Furthermore, customers will still be at liberty to contact via Skype – which continues to be a product which can be downloaded for free by both individuals and business users – undertakings which sell them goods and services without being obliged to obtain the product resulting from the integration of Lync with Skype.
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Peraltro, i clienti potranno sempre liberamente contattare via Skype - che rimane un prodotto scaricabile gratuitamente tanto dai privati quanto dagli utenti professionali - le imprese che vendono loro prodotti e servizi, senza che queste ultime siano obbligate a procurarsi il prodotto risultante dall'integrazione di Lync e di Skype.
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Third, the Court states that Lync faces competition from other large players on the enterprise communications market, such as Cisco, which alone holds a larger share of the market than Microsoft.
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In terzo luogo, il Tribunale sottolinea che Lync deve far fronte alla concorrenza di altri grandi operatori del mercato delle comunicazioni per le imprese, come la Cisco, la quale, di per sé sola, detiene una quota di mercato maggiore di Microsoft.
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That circumstance considerably reduces Microsoft’s ability to impede competition on that market.
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Orbene, questa circostanza riduce considerevolmente la capacità di Microsoft di ostacolare la concorrenza in tale mercato.
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Accordingly, the Court dismisses the action of Cisco and Messagenet in its entirety.
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Considerate tali circostanze, il Tribunale respinge integralmente il ricorso della Cisco e della Messagenet.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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An appeal, limited to points of law only, may be brought before the Court of Justice against the decision of the General Court within two months of notification of the decision.
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Contro la decisione del Tribunale, entro due mesi a decorrere dalla data della sua notifica, può essere proposta un'impugnazione, limitata alle questioni di diritto, dinanzi alla Corte.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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An action for annulment seeks the annulment of acts of the institutions of the European Union that are contrary to European Union law.
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Il ricorso di annullamento mira a far annullare atti delle istituzioni dell’Unione contrari al diritto dell’Unione.
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The Member States, the European institutions and individuals may, under certain conditions, bring an action for annulment before the Court of Justice or the General Court.
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A determinate condizioni, gli Stati membri, le istituzioni europee e i privati possono investire la Corte di giustizia o il Tribunale di un ricorso di annullamento.
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If the action is well founded, the act is annulled.
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Se il ricorso è fondato, l'atto viene annullato.
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The institution concerned must fill any legal vacuum created by the annulment of the act. |
L'istituzione interessata deve rimediare all’eventuale lacuna giuridica creata dall’annullamento dell’atto. |
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype is compatible with the internal market
The merger does not restrict competition either on the consumer video
communications market or on the business video communications market
Skype provides internet-based communications services and software enabling
instant messaging and voice and video communications.
Microsoft is a United States company whose activities relate essentially to
the design, development and sale of computer software and the supply of related
services which include internet-based communications services and software
offered to both the general public and business users.
In September 2011, Microsoft notified to the Commission the concentration by
which it intended to acquire control of Skype.
Cisco and Messagenet, companies which supply internet-based communications
services and software to undertakings and the general public respectively,
submitted observations to the Commission by which they sought to demonstrate the
anti-competitive effects that the planned merger would have.
In October 2011, the Commission none the less declared that concentration to
be compatible with the internal market.
Cisco and Messagenet then brought an action before the General Court for
annulment of the Commission’s decision.
In its judgment delivered today, the Court notes, first of all, that the
Commission confined itself in its decision to differentiating internet-based
communications for the general public (‘consumer communications’) from
communications for businesses (‘enterprise communications’) without adopting a
position on whether it was necessary to identify, within the category of
consumer communications, the existence of narrower reference markets.
The Commission found that the concentration did not give rise to competition
concerns even on the narrowest markets.
In that context, the Court takes the view that, even if the acquisition of
Skype enables Microsoft to hold an 80 to 90% share of a segment of consumer
communications, corresponding to video communications made on Windows-based PCs,
the operating system developed by Microsoft, the high market shares and high
degree of concentration on that segment of the market are not indicative of a
degree of market power which would enable Microsoft to significantly harm
effective competition in the internal market.
The consumer communications sector is a recent and fast-growing sector
characterised by short innovation cycles in which large market shares may turn
out to be ephemeral.
Moreover, Microsoft, which has traditionally held a very large share of the
PC software market, is less present on new operating devices, such as tablets
and smartphones, which are becoming increasingly important on the consumer
communications market.
Any attempt to increase prices of communications for users of PCs might
encourage them to switch to alternative devices.
Furthermore, since services on that market are usually provided for free, a
commercial policy of making users pay would run the risk of encouraging users to
switch to other providers continuing to offer their services free of charge.
The Court notes also that, on devices other than Windows-based PCs, competing
operators of Microsoft have sufficiently large market shares to constitute
communication networks whose level of use and attractiveness for users are at
least comparable to those of Skype and Microsoft, taken together.
In those circumstances, and in the light of Cisco and Messagenet’s failure to
demonstrate that the concentration might harm competition on the consumer
communications market, the Court concludes that, as regards that market, the
merger under examination is compatible with the EU competition rules.
Next, the Court rejects the argument of Cisco and Messagenet that, as a
result of that concentration, Microsoft would be able to reserve to its product
on the enterprise communications market, Lync, preferential interoperability
with Skype and with Skype’s large user base, to the detriment of its
competitors.
In that regard, the Court points out, first, that a concentration may be
declared incompatible with the internal market only if it harms competition in a
direct and immediate manner.
The attainment of interoperability between Lync and Skype and the successful
marketing of the new product resulting from this – which might, in theory,
enable Microsoft to restrict competition – still depend on a series of factors
in relation to which it is not certain that they might all occur in a
sufficiently near future.
Second, the Court states that the precise advantages of and the real demand
for such a product are vague.
In that regard, the Court notes that undertakings potentially interested by
an integrated communications tool wish primarily to communicate with consumers
of their products and services and not with users of Skype, who are not
necessarily their current or potential customers.
In addition, Skype does not allow undertakings to canvass actively its users,
who normally use a pseudonym, and who can be contacted only with their prior
authorisation.
Furthermore, customers will still be at liberty to contact via Skype – which
continues to be a product which can be downloaded for free by both individuals
and business users – undertakings which sell them goods and services without
being obliged to obtain the product resulting from the integration of Lync with
Skype.
Third, the Court states that Lync faces competition from other large players
on the enterprise communications market, such as Cisco, which alone holds a
larger share of the market than Microsoft.
That circumstance considerably reduces Microsoft’s ability to impede
competition on that market.
Accordingly, the Court dismisses the action of Cisco and Messagenet in its
entirety.
NOTE:
An appeal, limited to points of law only, may be brought before the Court of
Justice against the decision of the General Court within two months of
notification of the decision.
NOTE:
An action for annulment seeks the annulment of acts of the institutions of
the European Union that are contrary to European Union law.
The Member States, the European institutions and individuals may, under
certain conditions, bring an action for annulment before the Court of Justice or
the General Court.
If the action is well founded, the act is annulled.
The institution concerned must fill any legal vacuum created by the annulment
of the act.
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