Winners, losers, and Microsoft: Competition and antitrust in high technology

Abstract

The antitrust suit against Microsoft Corp. (MS) is proving to be one of the most important antitrust cases in history. There are many issues in the case but the most important ones relate to whether MS possesses monopoly power; whether MS used its monopoly power to distort competition in other markets such as the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows; and, whether MS forced original equipment manufacturers to enter into exclusionary contracts that prohibited these companies from carrying products competitive with those of MS. These issues are examined, and Liebowitz and Margolis's (1999) thesis that MS has not violated antitrust statues is disputed.