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Abstract
This thesis examines the difference in the competition policy of the European Union and the United States. While the United States bases their policy solely on the harm to consumers, the European Union follows other goals. Furthermore, the European authorities accept the theory that harm to competition might result in harm to consumers. The differences of the policy are shown with the example of the Microsoft case. The markets of the so-called new economy differ in some important aspects from the classical industrial markets, which raises the question whether traditional antitrust policy is applicable. One could argue that no other company influences the global economy as much as Microsoft, thus the importance of balanced antitrust policy is more crucial than ever before. This thesis also examines the possible outcomes of the lawsuits and show, what the rulings will mean for Microsoft.