Did Microsoft illegally attempt to monopolize the market for Internet browsers?
The court reversed Jackson completely, finding that the government did not define the relevant market for Web browsers nor show that the market contains significant barriers to entry. The court faulted the judge for relying on the analysis used in Issue #1, instead of providing separate evidence and analysis in his opinion. This is not a happy result for the government, but it has even worse implications beyond this one issue. Read on. Issue #3: Did Microsoft illegally tie its Internet Explorer browser to its Windows operating systems? The appeals court sent this issue back to the trial court, with a twist. Jackson found that Microsoft’s tying of the Windows operating system to the Internet Explorer Web browser was illegal without requiring a cost-benefit analysis of its effect on consumers. But the appeals court said the government must show that whatever harm Microsoft’s tying caused to the Web browser market outweighed any benefits to consumers in the operating systems market in the
