Court sentiment seems to be anti-monopoly these days, a far cry from the Reagan era when antitrust lawyers were looking for something else to do for a living. Giant corporations are striving to become larger and more powerful, while closing the marketplace to their smaller competitors.

The newspapers are filled with stories of major corporate mergers and the negative effects these mergers can have on smaller companies, but the undercurrent seems to be dragging along the Internet economy as well. At risk are companies that come together on the web and offer a full vertical structure of services by partnering with each other in space.

Worries about price-fixing and the ability of a consortium of businesses to squeeze out suppliers have some members of the government regulatory agencies paying special attention to business life on the Internet.

Meanwhile, the ultimate free marketplace continues to steamroll ahead. Business owners who operate on the Internet will be keeping a close eye on the upcoming election to find out if the antitrust sentiment in Washington will change in the coming years.