sandeep,
re: dominance
Nonsense. M$FT is not being prosecuted because it is
dominant but because it uses illegal or questionable
business practices.
One point that is getting lost in this case is that
M$FT is an unusual business formation: a very LARGE
software company. Most software companies don't get
this big, and never have. M$FT really doesn't have
any other way of making money, other than to sell
computer programs.
The software business is a new business and it has
always been governed by cowboys because there is no
IP protection by the legal system, other than to guard
against outright piracy. It's a free-for-all and Gates
has learned to ply his trade in that kind of an
environment. He finally got to the top of the heap,
but along the way had to steal lots and lots of code.
Thievery is part of the trade, though we don't like
to characterize success that way, it is nevertheless
true.
That's one reason M$FT is amazed that anyone is complaining
about the way they do business. They keep saying that
"everybody does business this way, why single us out??"
You know, it's really expensive to steal and copy hardware.
It's also easy to detect the theft. Try and you'll get
your butt kicked royally. But in the software business,
companies get into business relationships where code is
shared under non-disclosure, then one side decides they
like the code better than they like their business partner
so they steal the code. When the case comes to court,
(if that even happens), there's a huge debate about the
code and what constitutes copyright infringement.
This kind of b.s. has really screwed up the software
business and we are finally seeing the legal system
attempt to deal with it, using M$FT as the guinea pig.
It wouldn't be right, in my mind, for the US government
to regulate the software industry, but something has
to be done to protect the inventor and developer of
software intellectual property. |
