Research Guideline for Topic 12
The U.S. Telecommunication Policy

    ** Geisst, Charles R. 2000. Monopolies in America: Empire Builders & Their Enemies from Jay Gould to Bill Gates, New York: Oxford University Press.

1. Basic Concepts
   1) Kinds: natural monopolies, oligopoly (collusive ologopoly, cartel, shared monopolies)
   2) Merger: horizontal and vertical  
   3) Predatory pricing, price leadership (barriers to entry)
   4) Gibbons v. Ogden case in 1824: antitrust before Interstate Commerce Act in 1887 [ICC in 1888] and  Sherman Act in 1890 (p.29, p.32)
   5) Major issues: what were the major conflicts regarding monoplies? During colonial days with Crown's power of grant vs public justice and after the Civil War regarding reailroad industry? Merge of industries and bankers by J.P. Morgan(p.34)

    2. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, [another reference]

    3. Standard Oil v. United States: Differences between "reasonable restraints of trade" as a result of superior performance and "artificial monopolies" created to unreasonably restrain trade and competition.

1) John D. Rockfeller and Standard Oil

1. Microsoft case: MS did not break the law by acquiring a monopoly in operating systems for personal computers; it broke the law by using the power it derived from this monopoly to promote an artificial monopoly in the market for Internet browsers.
   1) Competitors: Sun Microsystem's Java
   2) Netscape

2. Website for Search
   1) Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet