Microsoft lawyer says EU decision "disappointing"

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said on Monday a European Union court ruling upholding a key antitrust decision against his company was "a disappointing one" and he hoped compliance issues would be solved fast.

Smith said the ruling was unprecedented and would have implications for future products of the world's biggest software maker.

"The decision is not what we would have hoped for. To say anything less would be less than candid. But it does provide us some new clarity, and on that clarity I hope we can start to build a new and stronger relationship with the European Commission," he told a news conference.

He was speaking after the European Union's Court of First Instance handed a stunning defeat to Microsoft, upholding a 2004 European Commission ruling against it, including a 497 million euro (345 million pound) fine.