Microsoft Corp., the world's largest softwaremaker, asked a court to overturn or reduce a record $1.4 billion European Union fine for failing to comply with an antitrust ruling.

The appeal was filed at the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, Microsoft spokesman Jesse Verstraete said. The company is attempting to seek clarity from the court, he said.

"There's a fairly good record of the court lowering fines the commission has made upon appeal," said Philip Marsden, a competition lawyer and senior research fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, who isn't involved in the case. "It's the company's legal right to appeal such fines, particularly with respect to orders regarding compliance with such a controversial and vague set of requirements."

The European Commission, the EU's antitrust authority, fined the company Feb. 27 for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust order. Under that decision, the EU ordered the softwaremaker to provide data to rivals to allow servers to connect to the Windows platform.