Is Microsoft a monopoly? In 1999, Microsoft was indicted by the US Department of Justice on suspicion of using anticompetitive contracts with personal computer (PC) manufacturers to maintain an illegal monopoly. During that time, about 95 percent of PCs with Intel processors ran a Microsoft operating system. On April 3, 2000, Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson delivered his conclusions of law. He claimed that Microsoft committed and attempted monopolization. Monopoly is defined as the existence of a single seller in the market who produces goods that have no substitutes. A single company has control over resources and the market by selling unique goods. In my personal opinion, Microsoft is a monopolist not because of its market share in the PC software market. In reality, Microsoft's production line is based on the state's enforcement of legal duplication monopolies known as copyright. For example, imagine there are two farmers known as Edward and Jacob. Edward wants to start his papaya business. Edward initially buys a papaya from Jacob and uses the seeds inside the papaya to plant papaya trees. Edward devotes his energy and time to the entire papaya plantation. After harvesting, Edward can actually sell them in direct competition with Jacob. However, if it is a Windows operating system, Edward cannot simply duplicate it and sell it for many times, even if he can invest time and money. It is a crime involving copyright infringement. A distinction is made between coercive monopoly and dominant private company such as Microsoft. A coercive monopoly is created by government act and achieves market share through legal protection against competition. On the other hand, Microsoft manages to reach... middle of paper... devices. Now Google's Android and Apple's iOS are on the rise. Basically Windows' global share has been reduced to around 30%. Don't forget to mention that Android is currently a larger platform than Windows. Finally, and most recently, this chart from analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco illustrates that the PC business is no longer simply being dwarfed by the explosion of smartphone and tablet sales. The PC has no longer become the center of the personal computing world. Instead, it becomes a specialized device for office productivity. Multiple device choices have made the full-blown PC not always the most convenient, effective, or easiest alternative for doing what a user wants to do. Simply put, current market share in the IT industry does not guarantee future success. Innovative competitors often tear down what might appear to be monopolies.