How to think about the Google anti-monopoly trial

Forgive yourself if you have forgotten that Google, owned by Alphabet, is on its third month in the dock during the biggest anti-monopoly trial since America’s Department of Justice (DoJ) won a conviction against Microsoft, another tech giant, a quarter of a century ago. Though some in antitrust circles hoped it would be the “trial of the century”, so far the proceedings, which are expected to wrap up shortly, have had little of the Sturm und Drang of the historic Microsoft showdown. The excitement may increase when the verdict is announced next year. For now, no one can confidently predict the outcome because Amit Mehta, the judge, keeps his cards close to his chest. But in the meantime, Schumpeter spoke to someone once lionised by Vanity Fair, a magazine, as “The Man Who Ate Microsoft”. How does David Boies, the government’s lead trial lawyer in the Microsoft case, see the similarities and differences between the two antitrust battles?