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To: Harvey Allen who wrote (16019)	1/12/1998 3:59:00 PM
From: Daniel Schuh	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 24154

DOJ's Klein on Microsoft & market power www5.zdnet.com This one addresses the "if DOJ goes after Microsoft, they'll go after everyone, and lawyers will write the code" line. I mean, it's fine with me if DOJ goes after everyone like Microsoft. Who else is like Microsoft? Who else has an OS monopoly that they consider it not only legal, but a necessity, to use as leverage to establish dominance in any application area they choose? After, of course, someone else has done the risky and innovative ground work. Sun, IBM never had much application presence that I know of... Klein's comments were clearly in response to concerns that the DOJ's move against Microsoft could indicate the beginning of greater scrutiny of high-technology companies in general. Indeed, the Redmond, Wash., software giant has done much to foster that perception. Microsoft has been telling reporters and the public that other big players - such as Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. - could be next if the DOJ continues down the path it has chosen. But that perception, Klein said, has little to do with actual antitrust law. The nation's top trustbuster said the DOJ will continue to look to existing statutes for guidance, but expects to intervene in what may be the world's most competitive industry - computer-related technology - only rarely. "Fundamentally, what you're concerned about is market power," he said. "It's a very consumer-oriented analysis." DOJ lawyers are charged with what they contend is little more than straightforward enforcement of laws prohibiting leveraging of monopoly power in one product to monopolize another. That, they said, makes the case against Microsoft clear. Since Microsoft's operating systems appear on approximately 95 percent of new computers sold each year, the company holds a monopoly in that market segment that cannot be used to establish new monopolies. That's that pesky Sherman act for you, the naive reading says the only solution is statutory immunity. Cheers, Dan. P.S. Harvey, you're not keeping up! You beat me to the NYT lead story today by minutes, but the www.ipmag.com story I posted last week, I think. As I posted before, everyone interested should check out www.ipmag.com for the entire current issue, about half of it is devoted to Microsoft and antitrust.