eCommerce Tycoon

**nanimo** · 03-04-2008, 12:17 PM

If i have a web script that does something for example counts sheep.
Then that script offers a built in forum. If the sheep counter script becomes famous and makes a lot of money can products like Vbulletin complain that im making illegal (indirect) concurrence?

Im remembering that microsoft got kicked several times because they included an internet browser (in their oversold operative system) making indirect competition with other browser companies.

(btw...the sheep counter is pure fiction, so please dont ask for it

)

**ADAM Web Design** · 03-04-2008, 12:24 PM

I don't see why they should.

**Learning Newbie** · 03-04-2008, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanimo

Im remembering that microsoft got kicked several times because they included an internet browser (in their oversold operative system) making indirect competition with other browser companies.

Windows aint' great, but it's still teh best operating system around.

Windows has 90 % or better of the market. That's why Microsoft had troubles with the court. It wasn't that they were doing something to compete in a different arena, it was that no one else had any room to compete with them. If you arne't in a position to force everybody else out of the sheep counting business, you won't have Bill's troubles.

Now, there might be other problems to look into at least quickly. Reverse engineering a product is generally illegal, but I bet VBulliten is open source or at least gives open access to its database?

**yankees51** · 03-14-2008, 08:34 AM

The MS Issue was purely a monopoly issue where they had bundled software as part of the OS, in other words having a distinct advantage over Netscape, Firefox etc. The essntial problem was that the IE browser could not be unbundled. I have not tried it but appears you can get rid of IE7 in Vista

I don't see this issue in your case