Microsoft Anti Trust
...Basic and called their newly formed business Micro-Soft. The following year the Microsoft name is officially trademarked with the state of New Mexico. At the end of 1978, the company’s year end sales equaled more than 1 million dollars and they have their first international office open in Japan. In 1980 Microsoft enters into a contract with IBM who needs an operating system designed. 1982 brought even more changes with DOS being licensed to 50 hardware manufactures. Also during this time they began developing early prototypes of what is known today as Microsoft Windows.
The licensed numbers of Windows users total more than 25 million in 1993. Windows 95 and Windows 98 were introduced followed by Windows 2000. That year they also acquired one of the largest business diagramming and technical drawing software companies, Visio Corporation.
With Microsoft strong power in the market for Intel-compatible PC operating system, if they choose to they could solely in terms of price. It could charge a price for Windows substantially above that which could be charged in a competitive market. They could do so over a long period of time without losing an unacceptable amount of business to competitors. In this relevant market, Microsoft enjoys a monopoly power. A monopoly is a term used by economist that refers to a situation in which there is one seller of a product or service to multiple buyers for which there are no close substitutes.
There are three facts that indicate this power. First; Microsoft’s share of the market for Intel-compatible PC operating system is extremely large and stable. Second; Microsoft huge market share is protected by a high barrier to entry and third; largely as a result of that barrier, Microsoft’s customers lack a commercially viable alternative to Windows.
Microsoft’s share of the market for Intel-compatible PC operating...
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