Sorry, but you get an "F" in antitrust law.<g> The term "trust" has little actual significance with respect to antitrust law. A trust is formed when one person ("trustor") gives property to a second person ("trustee") for the benefit of a third person ("beneficiary"). Antitrust laws are not directed at ordinary trusts, which are perfectly legal. It's an historical accident that antimonopoly laws are called antitrust laws, due to the fact that the combined business enterprises that the laws were enacted to break up were called trusts.
I don't have my copy of Black's Law Dictionary here, it's at my office, but rather than try to define anti-trust on my own, I'll post a couple of definitions copied from the 'Lectric Law Library's online legal dictionary.
"ANTI-TRUST - U.S. legislation, most popularized by the 'trust-busting' President Teddy Roosevelt administration, designed to prevent
businesses from price-setting or other secret or illegal collaborations that circumvents the natural forces of a free market economy and
gives those engaging in the anti-trust conduct a covert competitive edge. Also known as 'anti-combines' or 'competition' legislation."
lectlaw.com
"MONOPOLY - This word has various significations. 1. It is the abuse of free commerce by which one or more individuals have procured
the advantage of selling alone all of a particular kind of merchandise, to the detriment of the public.
All combinations among merchants to raise the price of merchandise to the injury of the public, is also said to be a monopoly.
A monopoly is also an institution or allowance by a grant from the sovereign power of a state, by commission, letters patent, or otherwise,
to any person, or corporation, by which the exclusive right of buying, selling, making, working, or using anything, is given." (N.B, this last definition may well be legal, e.g., a patent - CobaltBlue)
lectlaw.com
Judge Jackson found that Microsoft broke the law by, inter alia, forcing computer manufacturers to pay it a royalty on machines which were shipped WITHOUT Microsoft products. If they refused, then Microsoft refused to sell them any Microsoft products. That's pretty ugly, don't you think? |
