briefcase

Microsoft plans changes to licensing agreements

Microsoft outlined planned changes to the terms of its software licensing agreements, following complaints to antitrust regulators from some European cloud-computing service providers that the company’s practices put rivals at a competitive disadvantage.

The changes will make it simpler for customers of rival cloud-service companies in Europe to move their existing software to these other networks, Microsoft said in a blog post on Monday. The new terms will also ensure that cloud partners “have access to the products necessary to sell cost-effective solutions that customers want,” the company said.

The changes take effect Oct. 1. While the blog post refers to European cloud providers and their worldwide customers, Microsoft said the new rules also include cloud sellers globally. The rules explicitly don’t apply to Amazon.com and Google, Microsoft’s two biggest cloud competitors, or China’s Alibaba Group Holding.

CISPE, a European cloud group with Amazon and Aruba as members, on Tuesday said Microsoft’s new commitments fall short, a concern the group voiced back in May during the initial announcement from President Brad Smith.

“What was announced yesterday not only fails to show any progress in addressing Microsoft’s anticompetitive behavior but may add new dependencies that further lock in customers and arbitrarily exclude cloud infrastructure providers,” CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance wrote in a statement.

Report: More job openings than expected in July

U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in July after a sizable upward revision to the previous month, underscoring persistent tightness in the labor market as employers compete for a limited supply of workers.

The number of available positions edged up to 11.2 million in the month – topping all estimates – from a revised 11 million in June, the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed Tuesday.

The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a decline to about 10.4 million from a previously reported 10.7 million.

Vacancies have exceeded 11 million since late last year and the unemployment rate remains historically low, underscoring the strength of the U.S. jobs market. The imbalance between labor demand and supply continues to drive robust wage growth that complicates Federal Reserve efforts to tamp down inflation.

Sony sues Triller over payments for song use

Sony Music has sued Triller Inc. for copyright infringement, saying the TikTok rival refused to pay millions for licensing songs like Doja Cat’s “Say So” and Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.”

The New York-based music group has had a licensing deal with Triller since 2016, but since renewing a contract in December 2020, the company hasn’t paid up in recent months, Sony said in its complaint.

Triller, which operates a music video app and is based in Century City, owes millions of dollars, including interest, Sony said in its lawsuit filed in New York federal court Monday.

A representative for Triller did not respond to a request for comment.

The litigation is the latest in Triller’s legal woes. The app operators have had disputes with other music owners and claims of nonpayment by other parties.

From wire reports