Antitrust Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

European investigators to look at Apple carrier deals for possible antitrust violations

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 22nd, 2013)

Apple is under fire in Europe for possible anti-competitive contracts with wireless carriers that allegedly stifle competition, said a report by The New York Times. No formal antitrust complaint has been filed, but the European Commission has supposedly asked carriers to provide information ...

What could happen if Apple, DoJ go to trial over e-books

by Steven Sande (Feb 13th, 2013)

As of last Friday, Apple is the last remaining defendant in the US Department of Justice e-book antitrust case. On Friday, Macmillan settled with the government, the last of the original five publishers named in the case to do so. Now Apple is standing alone against the DoJ and is expected to ...

EU set to charge Samsung in Apple antitrust case

by Mike Wehner (Dec 20th, 2012)

The legal battle between Apple and Samsung may be winding down, but the Korean electronics maker's courtroom troubles are far from over. As Reuters reports, Joaquin Almunia, the European Commission's Vice President of Competition Policy, has revealed that the organization will soon charge Samsung ...

Reuters: Apple, Amazon e-book battle in EU nearing a conclusion

by Steven Sande (Nov 6th, 2012)

Source have told Reuters that EU regulators are going to accept an offer by Apple and four publishers to end antitrust investigations into their e-book pricing schemes. This result essentially cedes a victory to Amazon, which will be able to sell online books for less than its ...

Apple says it will stop e-book price fixing in Europe

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Sep 20th, 2012)

In a move that looks hopeful for the American market, Apple has vowed to stop fixing e-book prices in Europe, Macworld reports. As part of the agreement, Apple will terminate the agency-pricing agreements with the five companies involved in the European antitrust suit: Hachette Livre, Harper ...

Apple calls Dept. of Justice settlement proposal unlawful

by Kelly Hodgkins (Aug 16th, 2012)

Apple is making it known that it will not accept the ebook settlement terms proposed by the Department of Justice, says a report in Paid Content. Under the DOJ's proposal, Apple would have to sever its current contracts and renegotiate new ones with three book publishers - HarperCollins, Hachette ...

Apple faces potential suspension of sales in Italy

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jul 3rd, 2012)

Apple is in hot water in Italy over its warranty policy, which does not comply with Italian law. Apple products come with a free one-year warranty that can be extended with the purchase of an AppleCare warranty. Under Italian law, the company is obligated to provide two years of free warranty ...

Judge refuses request to dismiss ebook class action suit

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (May 15th, 2012)

Apple received a legal slap on Wednesday when U.S. District Judge Denise Cote rejected a request to dismiss a class action lawsuit against Apple and five publishers. Cote scoffed at the idea that Apple and the publishers acted independently in coming up with what's known as agency pricing, their ...

Apple officially responds to DOJ's antitrust case

by Michael Grothaus (Apr 13th, 2012)

Apple has officially responded to the antitrust claim brought against the company by the US Department of Justice. In the claim the DOJ says that Apple worked with five major publishers to illegally fix eBook pricing. In response to the lawsuit Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told AllThingsD: The ...

Reuters: Justice Department ready to sue Apple over ebook price fixing (Updated)

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 11th, 2012)

A report from Reuters suggests the Department of Justice could file a lawsuit against Apple today over alleged ebook price fixing. Publishers involved in the price-fixing scheme are supposedly settling with the government, while Apple has stayed out of the negotiations. As a result, Apple could ...

Apple reportedly stays out of ebook settlement talks

by Mel Martin (Apr 5th, 2012)

Apple doesn't appear to be rushing to settle antitrust claims in the price-fixing investigation into ebooks. The Wall Street Journal and others are reporting today that Apple and two other publishers are reluctant to settle, according to people knowledgeable about the investigation. There ...

EU launches antitrust probes against Motorola after complaints from Apple, Microsoft

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 3rd, 2012)

Apple and Microsoft filed separate complaints with the EU that accuse Motorola of using its essential, standards-based patents as weapons to curb competitor's products and advance their own, says a report in The New York Times. Under EU law, companies with patents essential to an industry ...

FTC Subpoenaed Apple over Google search on iOS

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 14th, 2012)

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission subpoenaed Apple as part of a Google antitrust inquiry says Bloomberg. The FTC asked Apple to hand over documents that detail its search agreement with Google. Google has been the default search engine for iOS since the iPhone launched in 2007. Rumors suggest ...

Apple begins defense against possible ebook antitrust case

by Steven Sande (Mar 9th, 2012)

Apple is wasting no time beginning to defend itself against the possibility of a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust action alleging that the company conspired with publishers to fix ebook prices. Last week, Apple requested that a class action suit alleging price-fixing on ebooks be thrown ...

Department of Justice reportedly planning antitrust suit against Apple

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 8th, 2012)

According to a Wall Street Journal Report, the Department of Justice is threatening to sue Apple and five book publishers for artificially inflating the price of ebooks. The five book publishers include Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Pearson PLC's Penguin Group, Macmillan and ...