Word: breakups
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...breakup of Microsoft proposed by the Justice Department and the attorneys general of 17 states would be a positive development for the software industry and for the public welfare. Curbing Microsoft's abuse of its monopoly will require a strong structural remedy, and the proposal to create two companies, one selling Microsoft's Windows operating system and the other selling applications such as Office and Internet Explorer, would promote competition in both fields. Despite the concerns that have been raised over such a dramatic penalty, a breakup of Microsoft seems to be the best of the available options...
...remedy handed down by the court after the years it will take to sort our the appeals would be made moot by advances in technology. According to reports in three major newspapers Monday morning, the Justice Department and 19 states filing the antitrust suit against Microsoft will seek a breakup of the firm. But that's not the real news. The warning siren from Microsoft's standpoint is that Justice reportedly intends to seek interim relief while the case gets dragged through the nation's courts, including a halt to Microsoft's alleged bullying practices and, more important, having...
...breaking up the company, much as AT&T was split into the Baby Bells in 1984. In one scenario, Microsoft would be divided along functional lines: one company that makes applications software, one built around the Internet and other new media, and one that just does Windows. A functional breakup would prevent Microsoft from using Windows for leverage in the applications and new-media markets, but it would leave the Windows monopoly intact...
Despite all of the breakup talk, the end result of the litigation may well be less extreme. Microsoft's lawyers are working hard to get Judge Jackson's decision reversed--and they'll fight fiercely against any structural remedies. Courts are usually reluctant to break up a company, and the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, which would hear Microsoft's appeal, will be no exception. "I don't think Judge Jackson's opinion will emerge unscathed," says George Washington University law professor William Kovacic. "And if it's diminished in significant ways, the foundations...
...find that Microsoft used that monopoly in violation of antitrust law. That will be followed by the the final phase of the landmark antitrust trial, expected to last several months, in which Jackson will determine a remedy that could range from a fine against the software giant to a breakup of the company. That's bad news for the boys from Washington State, since any decision Jackson makes could serve as potentially damaging precedent in the 115 civil suits the company is currently facing. Still, Microsoft will almost certainly appeal Jackson's decision, a process that should reach the Supreme...