Microsoft as a Monopoly

In 2002 a U.S. court of appeals imposed remedies relating to a lower court’s findings that Microsoft had a monopoly in personal computer (PC) operating system and had maintained its monopoly through illegal actions.

At the U.S. Justice Department’s Web site, www.usdoj.gov, https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-v-microsoft-courts-findings-fact (this is the link; if it does not work then the below are the steps to get to it.)

Click on the Agencies on the top of the window,

Click on Antitrust Division and then on website

Click on Antitrust Case Filings

Find U.S. vs. Microsoft case filings.

Scroll down to District Court filings and find Findings of Fact

In the list of Findings of Fact find Court’s Findings of Fact (11/5/99).

In your initial response to the topic you have to answer all questions:

1. On what basis did the court conclude that Microsoft was a monopoly (see “Market Share”)?
2. What was Microsoft’s market share of Intel-compatible PC operating system? Of all operating system, including those of Apply computers?
3. What evidence did the court cite in claiming that Microsoft charged above-competitive prices (see “Microsoft’s Pricing Behavior”)?
4. Reflection – the students also should include a paragraph in the initial response in their own words reflecting on specifically what they learned from the assignment and how they think they could apply what they learned in the workplace or in everyday life.