Microsoft, despite a lot of saber-rattling and antagonism, has also been warming to the open-source programming movement. Earlier this month, the Open Source Initiative gave approved two Microsoft licenses official open-source status.
Microsoft will offer the interoperability information under license terms that will permit programmers to use it in open-source software, Kroes said. Such software grants anyone unfettered rights to copy, modify and redistribute the software, freedoms that Microsoft's earlier terms wouldn't permit.
A trade organization that represents a number of Microsoft's competitors, from IBM to Oracle to Sun Microsystems, applauded the statements by the Commission.
"Today's statement...marks an important milestone in the Commission's efforts to address Microsoft's continuing abuse of its dominant position and ensure competition on the merits in key software markets," said Thomas Vinje, an attorney for the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS).
The open-source community received a large win with the agreement. And, in particular, the Commission did not take a position that Microsoft had any valid patents that could be infringed upon by sharing its protocol software, Vinje noted.
"So that means the Commission believes it is possible to deal with the situation, without a need for a patent license," Vinje said.
But that's not to say Microsoft may not try to file a lawsuit against those who sign aboard with one of its two licenses.
Microsoft has agreed not to enforce its patents over interoperability information for only noncommercial open-source software projects. If the software is used for commercial purposes, Microsoft may try to assert its patents.
A Commission representative noted the competition bureau is not in the business of determining what is, or isn't, a valid patent.
CNET News.com's Stephen Shankland contributed to this report.
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