Counteraction to Monopolistic Activity in the Field of Software on the Example of Cases against Microsoft

The present work is devoted to the description of the evolution of antimonopoly cases brought against Microsoft by the American, European and Russian antimonopoly authorities. The focus of this work is on assessing the ability of Microsoft as a manufacturer of an operating system that occupies a dominant position that can influence competition in the application software market, including the browser market, antivirus protection and media players. The position in the market of operating systems is closely related to the presence of direct and indirect network effects. It was found that in most cases Microsoft was accused of obtaining vertical restrictions and related sales in order to restrict competition. In addition, in later antitrust cases against Microsoft, there has been an increasing focus on behavioral aspects.

Part III Vertical Agreements Outside Regulation 330/2010, 10 Economics and Self-Assessment of Vertical Agreements

This chapter addresses vertical agreements outside the scope of Regulation 330/2010 on account of the market shares of the parties. Regulation 330/2010 applies only to vertical agreements between parties that each do not exceed a market share limit of 30 per cent. Such parties must conduct a self-assessment to determine whether their agreements fall within the scope of Article 101(1) TFEU and, if they do, whether they meet the conditions for exemption stated in Article 101(3) TFEU. The Vertical Guidelines commands a case-specific approach. This chapter repeats the overarching principles that apply to every self-assessment; describes the framework of analysis suggested by the Vertical Guidelines; summarizes the positive and negative effects of vertical restraints and presents the economic thinking that is underpinning the competition law treatment of vertical restraints; and finally summarizes the pointers contained in the Vertical Guidelines with respect to certain distribution formulas and certain vertical restrictions.