[Swordmaker]

Second, tying the sale of one item to another item is usually considered illegal under anit-trust law.

No, it isn't. There are many examples of "Tying" or "bundling" that are perfectly legal. There are several tests that must be met before tying and bundling can be declared an illegal violation of the anti-trust laws.

A tying arrangement is defined as "an agreement by a party to sell one product but only on the condition that the buyer also purchases a different (or tied) product, or at least agrees he will not purchase the product from any other supplier." Tying may be the action of several companies as well as the work of just one firm.

Success on a tying claim typically requires proof of four elements:

1. two separate products or services are involved;
2. the purchase of the tying product is conditioned on the additional purchase of the tied product;
3. the seller has sufficient market power in the market for the tying product;
4. a not insubstantial amount of interstate commerce in the tied product market is affected.

When a Mac purchaser buys a Mac, they are not required to pay extra for OS X. It is included with the purchase just as is the Mouse and keyboard. Also included at no extra charge is the iLife suite of applications. You don't buy these components of the system separately.

[ikka]

When a Mac purchaser buys a Mac, they are not required to pay extra for OS X. It is included with the purchase just as is the Mouse and keyboard

However, I can go to an Apple Store or buy online, a copy of OSX, without having to prove that I own any Apple hardware. I think the issue is, "can a purchased copy of OSX software, be run on any hardware that it can be run on"?

[antiRepublicrat]

A buyer doesn’t separately purchase Windows when buying from an OEM, but that was still an antitrust issue settled in the 1994 consent decree. OEMs had to pay for Windows to sell any computer. You have to pay for OS X to buy a Mac, likewise you have to buy a Mac to run OS X (according to the EULA).

I think all but #3 can be made to stick, but minus #3 there is no claim. The market is easily in a place where it can disregard Macs if it doesn’t like the tying, so any antitrust claim is bunk. The market also apparently doesn’t mind the tying given that it is increasingly favoring Macs over the viable alternatives that don’t have the tying issue.

It’s hard to press antitrust against a vertical marketer if that marketer doesn’t interfere with the competition. Call me when Apple sells in a majority of electronics retailers, then tells them they can’t sell Windows machines anymore if they want to keep Macs (or iPods or iPhones) in stock. Someone might have a case if Apple doesn’t get laughed out of the office.