Free market competition means consumers pay fair prices. If they are too high consumers will buy from a competitor but if they are too low the makers will go out of business.
Because of this law suits have been brought against Microsoft and other privelidged companies for abuse of near monopoly status and all market dominating corporations in the UK and USA are subject to control eg in UK by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
But while enforcing corporate competitiveness governments take the opposite view about copyright and patents. This is why Bill Gates became the richest man in the world.
It is also why Xerox copiers dropped to about 30% of their previous price when their patent ran out. Until that point they were charging the consumer about 200% more than they should have.
It is also why people die because generic drugs are not available while already rich drug companies hide under the excuse of r&d costs.
Isn't it time every company had to compete for you.
2006-11-13 05:06:42 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Corporations
Aeonstorm. What initial R&D? Windows is a work in progress and if no development, no sales. That is the point. They don't need copyright protection and Bill Gates fortune shows it is unhealthy.
2006-11-13 06:45:46 · update #1
Louigirl. I alreday agreed that there is good protection from corporate monopoly. What I say is that a virtual monopoly caused by copyright and patent laws should be illegal too as it is equally unfair.
2006-11-13 06:48:10 · update #2
This sounds like a homework question...
But copyright is established to promote intellectual and technological innovations. If a process can easily be copied (say Microsoft Windows), nobody will be willing to pay the R&D cost initially. Copyright gives people an incentive to come up with new ideas that push technology forward.
2006-11-13 05:17:52 · answer #1 · answered by aeonstorm83 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
in the usa, it has been time for every company to compete for your business for a long, long, long time. (do you know anything about the break-up of AT&T as a long-distance telephone and other telephone services company)? the sherman anti-trust act governs how companies cannot be monopolies, but other acts more closely define it. btw: a monopoly suit against Microsoft was succussfully won against Microsoft. see the link below for more information on the various anti-monopoly acts, including but not limited to the sherman anti-trust act of the united states:
2006-11-13 05:19:25 · answer #2 · answered by Louiegirl_Chicago 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋