Foreword

• Pages: 12-13

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FOREWORD

The Section of Antitrust Law of the American Bar Association

presents the Handbook on Antitrust in Technology Industries. In recent

years, technology markets have been a major focus of antitrust policy,

agency enforcement, and private litigation. From the Microsoft cases to

more recent agency investigations of Intel and Google, courts, agencies,

commentators, and practitioners have grappled with whether technology

industries are somehow different when it comes to antitrust. Dynamic

markets, the role of innovation and nascent competitors, tipping points,

multi-sided platforms, and network effects are central to the analysis of

competition in technology markets. And antitrust analysis of technology

markets has continued to evolve rapidly—it is arguably one of the least

settled analytical areas in antitrust law.

This Handbook fills a critical need for a comprehensive treatment of

antitrust in technology industries—those industries centered around

information technology, including software and hardware for computers,

mobile and embedded devices, networking, and rapidly growing cloud-

based industries such as social media.

This Handbook is intended to serve as a comprehensive review of the

applicable law and focuses intently on the application of the principles to

high technology industries, providing an invaluable resource for both

high technology and antitrust practitioners who contend with the myriad

competition issues that arise in this dynamic industry and fluid area of

the law, including concerted action, unilateral conduct, and mergers

involving technology firms.

This Handbook represents years of effort and dedication from those

who have closely followed and in some instances guided the evolution of

the industry and applicable antitrust law. No other book provides as

comprehensive and as current an analysis, and it is our hope that the

Handbook will be a lasting resource for those who practice in this critical

segment. We will update it to stay current in the future.

The Section is deeply grateful to the many attorneys and economists

who generously contributed sweat equity and innumerable volunteer

hours to this monumental undertaking. The project’s chair, Craig

Waldman, along with Media and Technology Committee co-chairs

Gregory P. Luib and Ankur Kapoor, deserve special mention for their