Antitrust after Microsoft : The Obsolescence of Antitrust in the Digital Era

In Antitrust after Microsoft, author David B. Kopel uses a careful analysis of the 1998 antitrust lawsuit, U.S. v. Microsoft Corporation, to raise and answer questions about the viability of antitrust regulations in an era of rapid technological change. Government regulators must often proceed slowly to allow political oversight of their actions, notes Kopel, allowing technology to sweep away products and competitors long before judgments are reached. The vagueness of antitrust law makes it particularly hazardous for the information technology industry, where partnerships and price-cutting are standard business practices.

The Microsoft case and the history of antitrust enforcement reveal the ability of markets to discipline companies that attempt to extract monopoly profits. Kopel concludes the best path to take may be to repeal the Sherman Act, the country’s principal antitrust law.