Microsoft's Day in European Court

Tech executives from around the globe will be focused on a Luxembourg courtroom over the next week, as one of the world's most closely watched legal battles reaches its next step. Starting Apr. 24, Microsoft (MSFT) will square off against the European Commission (EC) in an appeal of the commission's tough 2004 antitrust ruling against the software giant, which included a record $612 million fine.

There's much more at stake than the future of Windows. The European antitrust case is also a crucial test for intellectual property rights -- and indeed, a potential turning point in the relationship between regulators and the tech business. With Microsoft's U.S. antitrust trial a distant memory, Europe has now become the key battleground.