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>we need new antitrust laws that are a bit more proactive Bingo! Adobe has a de facto monopoly on vector and bitmap editing software tools, and it would make t

>we need new antitrust laws that are a bit more proactive Bingo! Adobe has a de facto monopoly on vector and bitmap editing software tools, and it would make total sense for this acquisition to be stopped by the government on that basis. "The government" in this case would be the DoJ's antitrust division headed by Jonathan Kanter [1]. Looks like the process is to send a letter requesting a "Business Review" [2]. It's probably a "fill out this simple 30 page form, wait 2.5 years (max!) and then have your review request politely declined" situation, but I suppose it's foolish to complain before trying. 1 - https://www.justice.gov/atr https://www.justice.gov/atr 2 - https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-reviews https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-reviews

dylan604 4y ago
>wait 2.5 years (max!) and then have your review request politely declined" situation >2 - https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-reviews https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-reviews "3. The Division may, in its discretion, refuse to consider a request. "
legitster 4y ago
>a de facto monopoly This isn't a terribly meaningful distinction. There are a dozen+ editing tools out there, most of them are pretty good and free. If Photoshop/Illustrator have 90% of the market because they are superior products, I'm not sure how much the government could/should do. Apple controls something like 90% of all mobile phone profits across the entire industry. I'm not sure how breaking them would actually provide any consumer benefit.
- itsoktocry 4y ago
  >Apple controls something like 90% of all mobile phone profits across the entire industry. Profits don't have anything to do with it though. Apple has sub-50% market share. Competition in the mobile space is so competitive there are few profits to be had.
  - legitster 4y ago
    If profits have nothing to do with it, then there's even less case to call it a monopoly. They nowhere near match the install base of all the free editing softwares (GIMP, Inkscape, Paint.net, etc).
- mrcartmeneses 4y ago
  I used to like Freehand.
CamelCaseName 4y ago
But why? What is stopping competitors from coming out and beating them?
- ratg13 4y ago
  A 10 year development cycle and the exact same monopolistic practices we are discussing here. This isn't the first time Adobe has done this and won't be the last.

dylan604 4y ago

>wait 2.5 years (max!) and then have your review request politely declined" situation >2 - https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-reviews https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-reviews "3. The Division may, in its discretion, refuse to consider a request. "

legitster 4y ago

>a de facto monopoly This isn't a terribly meaningful distinction. There are a dozen+ editing tools out there, most of them are pretty good and free. If Photoshop/Illustrator have 90% of the market because they are superior products, I'm not sure how much the government could/should do. Apple controls something like 90% of all mobile phone profits across the entire industry. I'm not sure how breaking them would actually provide any consumer benefit.

itsoktocry 4y ago
>Apple controls something like 90% of all mobile phone profits across the entire industry. Profits don't have anything to do with it though. Apple has sub-50% market share. Competition in the mobile space is so competitive there are few profits to be had.
- legitster 4y ago
  If profits have nothing to do with it, then there's even less case to call it a monopoly. They nowhere near match the install base of all the free editing softwares (GIMP, Inkscape, Paint.net, etc).
mrcartmeneses 4y ago
I used to like Freehand.

CamelCaseName 4y ago

But why? What is stopping competitors from coming out and beating them?

ratg13 4y ago
A 10 year development cycle and the exact same monopolistic practices we are discussing here. This isn't the first time Adobe has done this and won't be the last.