European Union's second-highest court on Wednesday rejected Microsoft Corp.'s appeal against a penalty levied four years ago in an antitrust case but reduced the fine by €39mn (US$48.7mn) to €860mn (US$1.07bn).
"The General Court essentially upholds the Commission's decision imposing a periodic penalty payment on Microsoft for failing to allow its competitors access to interoperability information on reasonable terms," the General Court of the EU said in a statement.
The latest decision rejects all the arguments put forward by Microsoft in support of annulment, the Luxembourg-based EU court said.
It was unclear whether Microsoft would appeal to the EU's top court, reports added.
EU's anti-trust regulator had imposed the penalty on Microsoft after the US-based software major failed to comply with a 2004 order to give rivals data they needed to help them interface with the Windows operating system.
EU anti-trust regulators originally fined Microsoft €497mn in 2004 for abusing its dominant market position to stifle competitors.
Microsoft's lawyers had argued during a court hearing in May 2011 that the fine was underserved and excessive.