New Developments in the Law on Monopoly: The Impact of the IBM West Coast Cases

Chroniclers of the development of public policy toward monopoly may someday regard the 1970\u27s as an important watershed in that development. The main events of that decade revolved around a series of court decisions involving International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). The issues dealt with IBM\u27s response to burgeoning competition from manufacturers who produced peripheral devices that could be attached to IBM systems, thus replacing the corresponding IBM product. After years of litigation, IBM has been acquitted of monopoly charges. This article explores the reasons for that acquittal and discusses the implications for competitive behavior in general