As the antitrust trial against it gets underway, Apple continues to fight accusations that it engaged in collusion and price-fixing with the major e-book publishers — despite the overwhelming evidence that it did exactly that. Read more at paidContent »
The federal government is pressing its legal and PR case against Apple in New York federal court today. It released some slides from the proceedings that are intended to highlight the intended conspiracy. Here’s a look. Read more at paidContent »
The European Commission is “almost 100 percent” likely to tell Google to improve its antitrust settlement proposals, Joaquin Almunia has told the European Parliament. The proposals would settle an investigation over alleged search bias. Read more »
Apple and the federal government met on Thursday for a final hearing before their trial, which is set to begin on June 3, and features several high profile witnesses. Read more at paidContent »
Apple’s exposure in a closely-watched price-fixing case over ebooks looks more serious as the CEOs of major publishers — which have already settled with the government — will testify about Apple’s role in the case. Read more at paidContent »
The European Commission has formally revealed the concessions Google is offering to make in order to settle an antitrust investigation over its search practices. Interested parties have a month to comment. Read more »
The details of a long-awaited deal between Google and the EU are finally out. The agreement requires Google to list three competitors in certain types of search listings, and to agree to other, wide-ranging conditions. Read more »
Not satisfied with targeting Google over its search practices, Microsoft and its allies have complained to EU competition authorities over the way Google services are bundled with Android. Read more »
Amazon’s purchase of Goodreads, an influential and independent social network for book lovers, is drawing fire from the Authors Guild. Read more at paidContent »
French carriers have reportedly made an unofficial complaint to EU competition authorities over Apple’s iPhone sales quotas. The Commission is unlikely to see this as a matter for an antitrust investigation. Read more »
Federal antitrust lawyers signaled they have no problems with T-Mobile USA’s pending tie-up with MetroPCS. It’s a good sign for the deal as the DOJ has been actively scrutinizing telecom deals of late. Read more »
Microsoft was naughty and got caught, and now it has to pay handsomely. Here’s the rundown on what happened, why it mattered, and why it may not happen again in quite the same way. Read more »
The case accusing Apple of fixing ebook prices is heating up. New court documents show that Steve Jobs’ biographer have been dropped from the case but that Jobs himself is still at the center of it. Read more at paidContent »
Macmillan, the last remaining publisher holdout in the Department of Justice’s ebook pricing antitrust lawsuit against five publishers and Apple, has decided to settle about ten months after the lawsuit was originally filed. Now Apple is the only remaining party fighting the DOJ lawsuit. Read more at paidContent »
After a two-year investigation into Google’s search business, the feds finally issued a decision. The outcome is a clear win for Google — here’s an easy Q&A about what happened and what it means. Read more »
The FTC finally concluded its two-year investigation into whether Google’s treatment of its competitors broke antitrust laws. The result is a minor change to the way Google uses patents but that does little to change the company’s search listings. Read more »
Europe’s antitrust commissioner has described the case as being one of ‘textbook cartels’. Companies involved in fixing prices for PC monitors and TVs from 1996-2006 include Samsung, LG, Toshiba, Panasonic, Philips and others. Read more »
Who has the right to use platforms like Facebook and Twitter? On Thursday, a federal judge emphatically sided with Facebook against an adware company that wanted to use the site for its own ends. Read more »
The government uses anti-trust law to stop cartels and ensure products can be bought and sold freely. This makes sense for ordinary consumer goods like gas or long distance phone calls, but does it make sense for cultural items like books? Read more at paidContent »
Did you buy an ebook in the last two years? Amazon is notifying customers of the potential for a refund and other retailers will soon follow suit. The process is part of a long, complicated class action proceeding. Read more at paidContent »
Google has apparently offered to indicate when its search results point to its own properties, in its ongoing negotiations with EC antitrust investigators. But that offer likely doesn’t neutralise the original complaints. Read more at paidContent »
EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia has indicated that formal antitrust proceedings are almost certain in the case of Microsoft, and pretty likely with Google too. In both cases, fines could run into the billions. Read more »
A data company has filed a dramatic counterclaim against Craigslist, accusing the classified site of acting as an illegal monopolist. A court filing argues Craigslist engaged in illegal, predatory behavior through actions like “ghosting” and unfair licenses. Read more »
Europe approves Universal’s bid for EMI’s music catalogue by compelling the combined entity to off-load artists including Coldplay and Gorillaz, so that is not large enough to hike prices required from new digital music services. Read more at paidContent »
A surprise ruling last week will force publishers to tear up their e-book contracts with retailers. The ruling is scheduled to go into effect in the next few days and, if it does, Amazon and others will be allowed to slash the price of e-books. A prominent lawyer has filed a Hail Mary brief to stop the process. Read more at paidContent »
State governments, which are suing publishers and Apple for fixing e-book prices, have finally said just how much each consumer will get in a proposed $69 million settlement. We have all the details. Read more at paidContent »
Google’s use of its homepage to advertise its own products and display pop-up birthday reminders for its Google+ network on its homepage may seem like just an annoyance, but each step the company takes toward promoting its own offerings raises more red flags for antitrust regulators. Read more »
The Justice Department is giving Verizon clearance to close its $3.9 billion acquisition of the cable companies’ 4G airwaves. While it is imposing conditions on their joint-marketing agreements — basically non-compete pacts — to resell each others wireline and wireless services, the concessions are relatively minor. Read more »
Along with Apple, publishers Penguin and Macmillan and the Authors Guild submitted filings criticizing the DOJ’s proposed ebook settlement on Wednesday. They argue that the DOJ has not provided analysis of Amazon’s ebook pricing and say the settlement goes too far. Read more at paidContent »
Verizon may well gets it 4G spectrum and its co-marketing agreements from the cable operators, though it will be forced to make some minor compromises to get the deal approved. WSJ reports that regulators wants to put a five-year timeline on Verizon’s pact with cable. Read more »
Google is making changes to its search algorithms that will penalize websites hit with copyright-removal claims, but the company is saying very little about what criteria it will use to determine who gets hit and who doesn’t — can we trust it to make the right decision? Read more »
Class action lawyers want Steve Jobs’ biographer to hand over his source material to help them prove that Apple and publishers fixed e-book prices. But a judge has agreed that the author can refuse under a law that protects journalists and their sources. Read more at paidContent »
A long-running dance between the European Commission and Google over antitrust allegations is finally coming to an end amidst reports that the two sides have reached an “understanding.” Read more »
Thirty states have bagged $52 million from publishers as part of a price fixing investigation involving Apple. More money is on the way. While state leaders say the money is for overcharged consumers, legal and antirust experts say the arrangement is unusual. Read more at paidContent »
Facing a fresh investigation from EU regulators over its failure to promote a choice of browsers to Windows 7 users, Microsoft has swiftly blamed a ‘technical error’. But will that be enough to save it from a gigantic fine? Read more »
Agitated by a ruling that it may have locked real-time data customers in to its services against competition law, Thomson Reuters makes concessions to let users use rivals – but they will have to pay. Read more at paidContent »
Regulators should view Verizon planned pact with cable as a merger, not as a joint venture, argues the Consumer Federation of America. Seen in that light, the CFA said, the government will have little choice but to reject Verizon’s acquisition of the cable operators’ 4G spectrum. Read more »
New court filings related to an alleged conspiracy between Apple and publishers over e-book prices show the matter may not be resolved until 2014. The filings underscore how the legal system moves at a much slower pace than the fast-evolving e-book market. Read more at paidContent »
Reports that Eric Schmidt has offered to settle an antitrust investigation by the European Commission are everywhere. But the reality is that the details of Google’s proposals — and the regulator’s response — remain shrouded in mystery. Read more »
Microsoft’s lost its attempt to get an €899m European antitrust fine overturned — an apparent victory for local regulators. But the reality is that while this fine might be vast by European standards, it’s barely a scratch on the surface for Redmond. Read more »
