Rival files Korean FTC complaint against Oracle

Tmax Soft Co., a U.S.-headquartered software maker, has filed a complaint against Oracle with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), Oracle said Friday.

The complaint argued that Oracle bundled its database management software with its Web application server, thus unfairly harming competitors, according to Yonhap News and the Joong Ang Ilbo newspaper.

Oracle was given until Friday to explain its position, Yonhap said.

“We have been informed by the Fair Trade Commission of Tmax Soft’s argument,” said a spokeswoman for Oracle’s Asia Pacific unit in Singapore. “Oracle Korea will make it’s stand to the Fair Trade Commission. Oracle Korea has never practiced any tie-in sales.”

Tmax Soft in the U.S. didn’t respond to a request for comment and a spokesperson was not available at the company’s Korean branch.

Filing of the complaint comes as the KFTC is in the midst of an investigation into Microsoft. Two complaints were filed against Microsoft: One in 2001 by Web portal-operator Daum Communications, which argued Microsoft caused it unspecified losses by building MSN Messenger into its Windows operating system, and another in 2004 by RealNetworks Inc., which complained about the combination of its Media Player and Media Server programs with Microsoft’s operating systems.