Tangent, an OEM based in Burlingame, Calif., filed a complain Feb. 14 in U.S. District Court for Northern California, seeking an unnamed amount from the software giant, claiming the software maker has been able to overcharge for its operating system as result of Microsoft's "artificial" market dominance.

"Because Microsoft, through its exclusionary practices, eliminated its competitors from the market and has blocked entry of new competitors and expansion of existing rivals, it has been able to increase, maintain or stabilize prices at anticompetitive levels" since the late 1980s, the complaint said.

"Microsoft's supra-competitive prices are not the result of superior products or competition on the merits. Rather, Microsoft has been able, at the financial expense of purchasers to artificially inflate its profits…."

Tangent alleged further that Microsoft entered into restrictive agreements with OEMs and system builders, limiting or eliminating their ability to feature non-Microsoft products.

This news article was written on February 22, 2006, quoting The Channel Insider.