<i>> So what does this mean? Microsoft lost a similar lawsuit over 20 years ago in which the government initially pushed to have the company split up (this was later overturned on appeals).</i><p>IBM lost a similar lawsuit nearly 40 years ago. It was overturned on appeals. Microsoft's split up was overturned on appeals. This ruling is certain to be appealed. Even if Google is eventually split up, it could be <i>over a decade</i> before we see anything happen.<p>Look at the history of breaking up AT&T - which <i>eventually</i> happened. Anyone thinking this ruling will have any impact on business in the near future hasn't been paying attention as to how these cases go.<p><a href="https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/24/news/companies/doj-vs-att/index.html" rel="nofollow">https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/24/news/companies/doj-vs-att/i...</a>