UK Tribunal Clears £2.1B Microsoft Cloud Suit for Trial

A London tribunal has ruled that a collective lawsuit worth up to 2.1 billion pounds against Microsoft can proceed to trial, alleging the company overcharged nearly 60,000 UK businesses for using Windows Server software on rival cloud platforms. The Competition Appeal Tribunal's decision, issued on Tuesday, allows the opt-out class action to move forward despite Microsoft's objections, marking a significant step in the long-running dispute over cloud licensing practices.

The case, led by competition lawyer Maria Luisa Stasi, claims Microsoft structured its licensing fees to disadvantage competitors like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Alibaba Cloud. According to the claimants, businesses running Windows Server on these platforms faced higher wholesale costs compared to those using Microsoft's Azure, with the difference passed on to end users. This pricing model, they argue, effectively made Azure appear more affordable and stifled competition in the cloud market. The lawsuit seeks compensation for the alleged overcharges, which Stasi's team estimates could total 2.8 billion dollars at current exchange rates.

In its ruling, the tribunal certified the collective...