Innovation and Competition in the Digital Network Economy ― A Legal and Economic Assessment on Multi-tying Practice and Network Effects

For more than a decade Microsoft Corporation has faced legal challenges, including anti-trust litigation, to its practice of tying products together to increase and extend market dominance. One result of the litigation is significant research on the effects of tying and multi-tying on networks, especially in digital media and instant messaging. This treatment, which was originally part of the Korean Fair Trade Commission's work on issues raised by Microsoft's tying the Windows Media Player and MS Messenger to Windows PC operating systems, lead to Microsoft's Windows K version that offered links to competitors' products. Cho carefully details the backgrounds and case references and the specifics of the Korean Fair Trade Commission's case, along with a close assessment of multi-tying practices and the effects of the Commission's decision on Microsoft's products and practices now and in the near future. Distributed in North America by Aspen Publishers, Inc. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)