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  • Essay / Microsoft and its monopolizing position in the industry

    Today, Microsoft is a household name. It is the name of a multi-billion dollar company whose software is found in the vast majority of computers today. Its operating system, Windows, is present on almost every computer that can be purchased in stores. One of its founders, Bill Gates, is the richest and one of the most famous people in the world. However, all this success has not been accompanied by controversy or questionable business ethics. There is evidence that supports the claim that Microsoft created a software monopoly through unfair business practices. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayMicrosoft was determined by a court that the company violated sections of the Sherman Act, which was created to preserve a market competitive to protect consumers from abuse and prevent things that could harm competition. The lawsuit documents state: “Section 1 governs combinations and prohibits those in restraint of commerce. Agreements to fix prices, divide markets, and link unrelated goods are most likely in violation of Article 1” (Cohen). The fact that Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with its operating system appears to have broken this rule. The documents also state that "certain behaviors of monopolies, companies that can charge a supracompetitive price in a defined market. Under Article 2, monopolists cannot intentionally acquire market power, nor deliberately maintain market power obtained through superior business acumen or by accident. » (Cohen) Furthermore, “Finally, a company is liable for attempted monopolization if, with the intention of monopolizing, it engages in anticompetitive behavior and has a dangerous chance of success” (Cohen). Microsoft appears to have violated this rule by bundling the Windows operating system with almost every computer on the market. There was a case involving Microsoft that planned to address these issues, United States v. Microsoft. The violations and accusations of monopolization are more detailed in this case. The court had "upheld the district court's ruling that Microsoft had unlawfully maintained a monopoly on Intel-compatible PC operating systems." (Cohen) This shows that the court agrees with the prosecution. However, "citing Microsoft's diminished liability, the Court of Appeals vacated the division order issued by the district court" (Cohen). This means that the order to split Microsoft into several companies has been canceled. Instead, a negotiation had to take place. This was noted when Cohen writes: “On remand, the Fixing States and the DOJ abandoned the related claim and proceeded to negotiate a settlement” (Cohen). However, will the negotiation plan be enough to limit Microsoft? A subheading of the document written by Cohen, "Anti-Retaliation and Uniform Licensing Provisions," lists Microsoft's various unethical business practices. One of them says that "Microsoft threatened to support '3DX' technology from AMD, an Intel competitor, if Intel did not stop helping Sun Microsystems by developing a fast, cross-platform virtual machine using the standards Sun’s Java” (Cohen). Another also says that "Microsoft also threatened to stop supporting and developing its Mac Office program, used by ninety percent of Macintosh users running an office suite, if Apple Computer continued to include Netscape as a.