Imagine You’re A Carpenter

As a carpenter, you have relied on the tools of your trade to make a sustainable living for many years. You’ve maintained your tools and stayed current with the latest advances in order to stay competitive. One of your tools, a very nice power drill, has required periodic upgrades to accommodate the latest drill bits and sundry attachments that have come onto the market.

One day, having broken the last drill bits that fit your model, you head out to remedy the situation. Alas, the bits you use are no longer available, and there is no component made to adapt your drill to fit the newer bits. Groaning, you reach for your wallet and prepare to purchase a brand new drill––after all, you’ve been using the one you have for nearly 20 years, so isn’t it time?

Heading over to the display wall, you’re shocked at what you see. Could it be? Every power tool available is made by one company! In addition, they apparently only make one model of power drill. You pick it up and look it over. It’s not like the one you’re accustomed to, but it has nice packaging and plenty of bells and whistles. Still, it’s expensive and you don’t need all the fancy stuff, you just need a reliable tool that fits the way you work and doesn’t require stepping onto a steep learning curve.

Wait, there it is in the corner, a drill just like your old one! You pick it up and it feels right at home in your hands, a well balanced and efficient model. In fact it’s the exact same tool you’ve been using for years! You heave a sigh of relief: without question you want to buy it again, given it is upgraded from your current drill.

You take the drill to the nearest clerk and tell him how relieved you are to find an upgraded version of your favorite drill. Alarmingly, he tells you that it has not been upgraded in over five years, and never will be. The company that makes all the other tools on the wall has bought the company that manufactured the drill you want, and now sees you as a captive market for their products instead.

You stare dumbly at the clerk and ponder it all…

As this short story demonstrates by way of analogy, the current situation with Adobe is outrageous and intolerable. To underscore that statement, we’re providing the 1994 FTC ruling against Adobe pared down to 9 pages and with perhaps the most telling paragraphs highlighted (thanks Adobe, nice feature). As we see here, 1994 was an entirely different era. Amazingly, the FTC rationale for ruling against Adobe, with relevant laws cited, provides an almost eerily exacting description of our circumstance today. Where is Adobe’s competition? On the fringes of the digital marketplace is where they live, trying to scratch out a living by nibbling the tiniest bite from Adobe’s colossal market share. And there they will stay as long as Adobe is allowed to continue its wanton disregard of U.S. Antitrust laws.

Tags: 1994 FTC Ruling, Adobe, analogous comparison, Antitrust Law, freehand