Microsoft @ 25: Impact, Influence, and Legacy symposium: Panel 2 – The Economics of Platforms and Innovation

June 28, 2026 will mark the 25th anniversary of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in United States v. Microsoft. In anticipation of that anniversary, at this symposium, NYU School of Law and Hausfeld LLP examined Microsoft’s impact on the development of U.S. monopoly law and policy, its influence on the economic analysis of digital markets, and its durable legacy. Although the Microsoft decision had limited impact at first, the case now stands at the center of an unprecedented wave of private and public antitrust challenges to some of today’s largest technology firms. Understanding and evaluating how Microsoft has affected these challenges was the central focus of this conference.

Panel 2 – The Economics of Platforms and Innovation: Microsoft’s economic infrastructure included a focused analysis of the significance of entry barriers, network effects, switching costs, and cost-raising strategies, all in the context of platform software. Microsoft’s economics set it apart from previous monopolization cases, but the case was decided before economists had fully developed theories to explain how platforms behave and compete, and at a time when the term “ecosystem,” borrowed from biology, was just coming into use. In what ways did Microsoft lay the economic groundwork for today’s concerns about digital markets? Have developments in economic theory since Microsoft given us a better understanding of how antitrust law should deal with digital platforms? Have we paid sufficient attention to the link between monopoly power and conduct, and the incentives for innovation?

Watch Panel 2 – The Economics of Platforms and Innovation here. 

Participants:

• Michal GAL | Professor and Director of the Center for Law and Technology, Faculty of Law, University of Haifa with Raz AGRANAT | JSD Candidate, University of Chicago
• Erik HOVENKAMP | Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
• Daniel RUBINFELD |Robert L. Bridges Professor of Law and Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley and Professor of Law Emeritus, New York University School of Law
• Steven SALOP | Professor Emeritus, Georgetown Law
• Moderator: Christopher Jon SPRIGMAN | Murray and Kathleen Bring Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

The Microsoft @ 25: Impact, Influence, and Legacy symposium was held on February 21, 2025, at the NYU School of Law. Read more about the symposium.