The Elusive Antitrust Standard on Bundling in Europe and in the United States in the Aftermath of the Microsoft Cases

Abstract

Allegations of anticompetitive tying and bundling were significant parts of the antitrust cases against Microsoft in the United States and the European Union. The facts are well known. Starting with the integration of MS-DOS to Windows and the introduction of Windows XP, Microsoft has progressively produced and added to the Windows operating system a number of applications, such as its Web browser, Internet Explorer (which was included in Windows 95 in 1995), and Windows Media Player (WMP), which was integrated to Windows ME in 2000. Microsoft's policy of integrating new functionalities to the Windows operating system has been challenged by both the U.S. and the European antitrust authorities.