Nestlé is working on ways to prevent competitors from doing this.

It used to be that everyone was trying to win all the strategic alliances to prevent competitors from getting them.

Utilities use that control to prevent competitors from having access to their customers.

"As a result," he said, "they prevented competitors from acquiring an installed base of their own."

If the strategy works, they could prevent new competitors from poaching some market share.

The critics argue that agents across the country have sought to prevent online competitors from gaining a share of the market and changing the business.

Many are in the business just to prevent competitors from establishing relationships with their clients.

Both Caldor's and Denny's had the right to prevent direct competitors from moving onto the property.

A monopoly can preserve excess profits because barriers to entry prevent competitors from entering the market.

The Australians kept the keel secret until the last moment to prevent competitors from trying to copy it.