Antitrust Case Essay

The Sherman Antitrust act of 1890, along with other laws passed by congress, was put in place to regulate companies from engaging in anticompetitive practices. However, in 1998 Microsoft was the subject of an investigation initiated by the Justice department. In their charges the Department of Justice accused Microsoft of engaging in monopolistic activity. The purpose of my report is to examine what led to the investigation. Furthermore, I will explain the judgment in the case. Finally, I will

The Microsoft Antitrust Case The Microsoft Antitrust Case In 1998 the Microsoft Corporation was at the center of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) which alleged the company of violating the Sherman Act. The Sherman Act is considered the foundation of federal antitrust litigation, and is used to “combat anticompetitive practices, reduce market domination by individual corporations, and preserve unfettered competition as the rule of trade” (www.law.cornell.edu). The DOJ

The Microsoft Antitrust Case A Case Study For MBA Students by Nicholas Economides* Revised April 2003 Abstract This case study discusses briefly the economic and legal issues pertaining to the antitrust case of the United States and a number of States against Microsoft. * Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, NY 10012, (212) 9980864, fax (212) 995-4218, http://www.stern.nyu.edu/networks/, neconomi@stern.nyu.edu Copyright ©, N. Economides 2 Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5

Introduction This case study is about the antitrust case of Microsoft’s business practice around its Internet Explorer product. In this case study, the background of the case is discussed, followed by a discussion on whether Microsoft was abusing its monopolistic power in trying to win over its competition, and whether Microsoft was anti-competitive as alleged by people who opposes the company. In addition, the case also relates to how consumers are impacted by Microsoft’s business practices, and

Student: Stephen Votta Class: Business and Society Course time: Online Professor: Dr. Chemene Crawford Date due: 06/03/2006 The Anti-Trust Case against Microsoft Microsoft was founded in 1975 by founder Bill Gates, a former Harvard drop out (Lawrence, 455). The business grew and controlled 90% of the market for operating systems, with revenues of over nineteen billion dollars per year (Lawrence, 455). In the nineteen nineties, the Internet generation was starting to explode and

perspective of having a more successful company, even if doing so illegally. This article is exactly what Amazon was trying to do with Apple and all the other Publishing companies when they decided to take Apple to court. The case between the two when taken to court was an antitrust case that apple ended up violating rules to be at the top of the business world. Apple was accused of violating the Sherman Act by conspiring with Publishers to eliminate the retail price competition and raise the price of the

name was on trial for monopolizing the software industry. They were accused of forcing computer makers to use their internet browser as part of the Windows software. In the process violated Section 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Law. According to Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Law, companies are prohibited to make “agreements in restraint of trade--such as price- fixing, refusals to deal, bid-rigging, etc. The parties involved might be competitors, customers, or a combination of the two.” (economics)

attest to I was quite young while this case was going on. Now going back to research this topic sheds a lot of light onto things I did not understand at the time. The lengthy legal battle began in 1998 when Microsoft was accused of partaking in illegal behavior that violated many details laid out in the Sherman Antitrust Act. Illegal behavior such as making their Internet browser a bundle deal with their operating system of their windows computers. The case would first go to mediation with both sides

The case against Microsoft was brought buy the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as several state Attorneys General. Microsoft is accused of using and maintaining monopoly power to gain an unfair advantage in the market. The case has been under observation for a long time, but the Justice department is having trouble coming up with substantial evidence against Microsoft. Specifically, the Department must prove:That Microsoft has monopoly power and is using it to gain unfair leverage in the market

The U.S. government charged that Microsoft had violated antitrust law. Microsoft disagreed. Do you agree with the U.S. government, or with Microsoft? In answering this question, you may wish to address two issues. Was Microsoft a monopoly? Did it use its monopoly to compete unfairly against other companies? Commencing in 1990, Microsoft was investigated and then charged with violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act which governs United States businesses. The company was determined to be a monopoly