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Tying is the practice of selling one product or service as a mandatory addition to the purchase of a different product or service. In legal terms, a tying sale makes the sale of one good to the de facto customer conditional on the purchase of a second distinctive good. Tying is often illegal when the products are not naturally related. It is related to but distinct from freebie marketing, a common method of giving away one item to ensure a continual flow of sales of another related item.
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Criticism of Microsoft has followed various aspects of its products and business practices. Issues with ease of use, robustness, and security of the company's software are common targets for critics. In the 2000s, a number of malware mishaps targeted security flaws in Windows and other products. Microsoft was also accused of locking vendors and consumers in to their products, and of not following or complying with existing standards in its software. Total cost of ownership comparisons between Linux and Microsoft Windows are a continuous point of debate.
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The smartphone wars or smartphone patents licensing and litigation refers to commercial struggles among smartphone manufacturers including Sony Mobile, Google, Apple Inc., Samsung, Microsoft, Nokia, Motorola, Huawei, LG Electronics, ZTE and HTC, by patent litigation and other means. The conflict is part of the wider "patent wars" between technology and software corporations.
FairSearch is a group of organizations that lobby against Google's market dominance in online search and related practices. The group is controlled by Oracle and Naspers executives and has been characterized as a consumer protection organization, a Google watchdog, as well as a front group for Microsoft. Many of its other members are also Google competitors, such as Expedia and Oracle.
Since 2010, the European Union has investigated several antitrust complaints against Google alleging abuses of its dominant position in breach of the EU's competition laws. Three complaints have resulted in formal charges against Google: those relating to Google Shopping, the Android operating system and to Google AdSense. Google has been found guilty of antitrust breaches in the three cases and has been fined over €8 billion. In 2020, the European Union has also launched a full investigation of Google's proposed acquisition of the fitness tracker and wearable health company Fitbit, under the EU Merger Regulation. The operation was eventually cleared on 17 December 2020 subject to conditions.
References
- ↑ "Press corner".
- ↑ "IBM takes dim view of EU claims "being made by Microsoft and its satellite proxies"". 26 July 2010.
- ↑ "IBM, Adobe, Oracle join EU antitrust case against Microsoft". 15 April 2009.
- ↑ "Update: EU launches two new antitrust probes against Microsoft". 14 January 2008.
- ↑ Kevin O'Brien (27 July 2010). "Europe to Investigate Antitrust Complaints Over I.B.M. Mainframes". The New York Times . Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ↑ "Mainframers drop EU antitrust complaints against IBM". The Register .
- ↑ White, Aoife (14 December 2011). "IBM Settles European Union Antitrust Dispute Over Mainframes". Bloomberg.