antitrust
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DoJ's inquiry at Apple purportedly expanding beyond iTunes practices
Take this for whatever it's worth (which isn't a whole heck of a lot without any official confirmation from any of the parties involved), but the New York Post has it that the Justice Department's inquiry into Apple's iTunes practices may in fact be growing. 'Course, it's not exactly surprising to hear that authorities are now investigating every nook and cranny of Apple's tactics thanks to Steve Jobs' public thrashing of Flash and his sly insistence that the world shun Adobe while hugging HTML5, but we've still yet to hear from the DoJ and Apple about what exactly is going on within Cupertino. At any rate, the Post notes that a number of "sources" have confirmed that the inquiry is growing, most notably to include "how the iPhone and iPad maker does business with media outfits in areas beyond music." We'd heard whispers that things may be getting just a bit too dictator-ish in the developers Ts and Cs, and now it seems that the DoJ is "asking questions about the terms that Apple lays out for computer programmers who want to develop apps for the iPad." It'll be interesting to see how all of this plays out, but we can bet devs (and end-users, frankly) are hoping and praying for less restrictions in the future.
DoJ making preliminary inquiries into Apple's music endeavors while iTunes dominance continues
It's all just noise right now, but the United States Justice Department is purportedly having a "very preliminary conversation" with Apple regarding the company's music business, wondering in particular if anything it's doing (or has done) would violate antitrust legislation. According to unnamed sources familiar with the situation, DoJ staff seem most interested in whether or not Apple's dominance in the market enabled it to unfairly prevent Amazon's music service from exclusively debuting new songs. Beyond that, details of the investigation are few and far between, but it's coincidentally coming down on Cupertino when its iTunes numbers are on the up and up. The latest NPD research figures show that over a quarter of the music purchased within the US is now procured through iTunes -- 28 percent, if you're looking for specifics, which is up 4 percentage points from Q1 2009. Meanwhile, Amazon has pulled into a tie with Walmart for second place, which may or may not coerce Wally World to ditch its morals and finally start stocking that uncensored version of My World 2.0.
Supreme Court ruling states NFL teams are separate entities
According to USA Today, a recent Supreme Court ruling has denied the National Football League antitrust law protections, stating that its 32 constituent teams must be considered separate entities. The court reversed the dismissal of a suit filed against the league by American Needle, Inc., a company which was locked out of the football-themed hatmaking business after the NFL penned a 10-year exclusivity agreement with Reebok. Gee, that sounds awfully familiar. The case of American Needle v. NFL has returned to the lower courts, where a decision in favor of the former could drastically change the face of the NFL's licensing business. In short, if the district courts find the league in violation of antitrust laws, it could repeal exclusivity agreements like the one with Reebok -- or, likely more pertinent to your interests, the one with EA Sports, which brought a hasty end to the NFL2K series. We'll keep an eye out for further developments in this lawsuit.
Engadget Podcast 195 - 05.07.2010
You'd think that Michael Gartenberg would bring a tone of civility to the Engadget Podcast, but his practical approach to tech thought simply causes rage in the hyper-inflated egos of Josh and Nilay, who both live in a world where teenagers simply do not exist. Don't miss it.NOTE: We had a few recording issues, please bear with us. They won't kill you. But if they do, don't say we didn't warn you.Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay PatelSpecial guest: Michael GartenbergProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Rock And Roll All NightHear the podcast00:01:30 - Microsoft Kin One and Two review00:05:00 - Kin available online starting tomorrow, in Verizon stores on May 1300:30:00 - Survey says: most teens don't have a data plan, almost all send texts00:40:00 - Confirmed: BlackBerry two-way sync for Gmail is now live00:48:05 - Intel's Atom Z6xx series isn't targeting Windows Phone 7, but 'full Windows experience' still an Atom priority00:53:00 - Intel reaches for the 'smartphone zone' with Moorestown-based Atom Z6, comes up shorthanded00:58:25 - Apple under preliminary antitrust investigation over iPhone, triggered by complaint from Adobe01:15:40 - Engadget wins the People's Voice Webby in Consumer Electronics, and you can win a Droid Incredible! Subscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcast1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget
Apple under preliminary antitrust investigation over iPhone, triggered by complaint from Adobe
We'd heard a somewhat sketchy report from the New York Post yesterday that the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission were considering launching an antitrust inquiry into Apple and its various iPhone-related practices, and now it's being confirmed by Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, who say the inquiry was triggered by complaints from Apple's competitors and app developers -- specifically Adobe, according to Bloomberg. The DOJ and FTC are currently deciding which agency will take the lead in any inquiry, but if and when it gets underway there are a few issues at play: the first is obviously Apple's decision to block Flash and other middleware from app development, and the second is Apple's new iAd platform, which comes with its own changes to the iPhone developer agreement that could potentially lock out third-party ad and analytics services like AdMob -- itself under regulatory scrutiny due to the Google acquisition -- and Flurry. We'd also imagine regulators will take a close look at Apple's App Store policies in general, but from a distance looks like the focus is on mobile advertising: both Apple and Google have made aggressive moves into the space in recent months, and both have come under regulatory scrutiny. We'll just have to wait and see how this one plays out -- there's still no official word from either agency on what's happening, and the timeline of any potential investigation and lawsuit will be measured in months and years.
Apple to face antitrust inquiry over iPhone coding restrictions?
Apple's decision to block third-party toolkits and middleware -- particularly Flash -- from being used to develop iPhone and iPad apps has certainly prompted a fair amount of debate around the web, and now it sounds like Steve and the gang might face some even harsher scrutiny: a single-sourced piece in the New York Post reports that the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice are currently tussling over which agency should be tasked with a potential antitrust inquiry into the matter. That would certainly make some noise in the industry, but it doesn't mean much for those of us here in reality quite yet: assuming the report is true, an inquiry would still just be the very first step -- whichever agency is ultimately put in charge would then have to launch a formal investigation and then finally file and win a lawsuit for any changes to occur. That's a timeframe measured in months, if not years. All that said, we can see why the feds are interested: Apple's slowly moving into an ever-more dominant position in the mobile market, and forcing developers to make a hard choice about which platforms to target certainly puts the squeeze on competitors. We'll be following this one closely -- stay tuned.
Court rules not to dismiss Datel antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft
Datel's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft will continue, now that a US District Court has rejected Microsoft's motion to dismiss the case. In all, five of Datel's six allegations against the Xbox 360 maker will be weighed. The court did dismiss Datel's claim that Microsoft would be blocking the company from competing in the console market, since Datel does not actually manufacture game consoles. (Find Datel's full announcement of the court's rejection posted after the break.) The antitrust case claims that by locking out Datel's Max Memory Card with a firmware update, Microsoft used its status as the platform holder to unlawfully prevent competition. In Microsoft's motion to dismiss, it claimed that language in the "Additional Terms and Conditions" clause in the Xbox 360 product warranty barred the use of unauthorized peripherals. The company back upped its case by citing Apple's successful defense of its right to limit use of OS X to its own hardware. The court rejected Microsoft's motion, however, finding the language in the "Additional Terms and Conditions" vague and too wide-reaching. For example, if Microsoft's interpretation of the terms was accepted, it could prevent the use of certain televisions with the console. Since Datel's suit was first filed, of course, Microsoft has enabled the use any USB drive as a memory unit for the Xbox 360, which means that even if Datel is able to continue to sell the device, there likely won't be much demand for it. Meanwhile, Microsoft recently filed its own suit against Datel over claims that one of Datel's controllers is too similar in design to the official Xbox 360 gamepad. Source – Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendant's Motion to Dismiss [PDF]
Google claims that Microsoft is encouraging third party anti-trust lawsuits
Microsoft certainly knows a thing or two about anti-trust suits, and if the kids at Google are to be believed the company is waging something of a proxy war on them by injecting itself in lawsuits and complaints brought up by third parties. As Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich told The Wall Street Journal, "our competitors are scouring court dockets around the world looking for complaints against Google into which they can inject themselves, learn more about our business practices, and use that information to develop a broader antitrust complaint against us." Of course, Microsoft claims that this is mere bosh, saying that it's neither initiated nor is it funding anti-trust lawsuits from small companies like TradeComet.com or myTriggers.com -- the latter of whom is being represented by Charles "Rick" Rule, Microsoft's chief outside counsel on competition issues. Then again, if we remember correctly Ciao -- the European online shopping portal -- didn't have any problems with how Google did business until they were snatched up by Microsoft recently. Coincidence? Inevitable? Both? We can't say, but things are sure to get interesting.
EU launches preliminary antitrust probe against Google
Now that Microsoft's browser selection story is all but settled, it looks like the European Union is gearing up for a new antitrust probe, with its crosshairs aimed generally in Google's direction. According to the search giant's Senior Competition Counsel Julia Holtz (via its European Public Policy Blog), complaints from three European internet companies -- legal search group EJustice.fr, price comparison site Foundem.co.uk, and German-based Microsoft subsidiary Ciao.de -- have prompted the European Commission to launch a preliminary, fact-finding probe. The charges? Anticompetitive practices stemming from unfair downranking of its competitors in search results. Google denies any wrongdoing, while adding ,"we are also the first to admit that our search is not perfect, but it's a very hard computer science problem to crack." The Microsoft connection seems particularly notable to Google; Holtz reiterates that the company had a good relationship with Ciao until the Redmond company picked it up in 2008 -- "we started receiving complaints about our standard terms and conditions." Like we said, at this point it's just a fact-finding probe that could end up going nowhere, but seriously, Google's lawyers cannot seem to get a break these days.
Microsoft files motion to dismiss Datel suit, cites Apple and others in defense
Microsoft has registered a motion to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit originally filed by unofficial memory card maker Datel, in which Datel claimed that by locking out its cards, Microsoft was being illegally anti-competitive in the field of 'Multiplayer Online Dedicated Gaming Systems" and their accessories. Microsoft's motion to dismiss (here's the PDF link) actually cites one of its biggest rivals, Apple, who fought off another unofficial vendor by claiming that its users (us) had knowingly agreed that by using its products, any aftermarket products had to come from Apple as well. You can't run OS X on any computers not made by Apple, says Microsoft, and so you can't use any non-Microsoft memory cards on your Xbox. As with most legal filings, the situation is complicated. Datel is also trying to claim that Microsoft has a grip on the console market by claiming that the much better selling Nintendo Wii isn't actually a part of that market, which leaves Microsoft in the weird position of arguing that yes, there are plenty of consoles (including the PSP and even the PlayStation 2) that "have outsold the Xbox 360." And Microsoft also argues that Datel's cheat-enabling memory cards "undermine quality user experience" on Xbox Live, which would also be reason enough to keep them off the system. Interesting arguments, all, but we'll have to see which emerge victorious after a hearing scheduled for March 2 in San Francisco.
Psystar's lawyer: Psystar not done yet
Last night on the Talkcast, we talked about the big news last week that Psystar seemed to be down for the count, and the consensus was that we'd heard the last of them. But not so fast: their lawyer now says that they're not calling it quits just yet. The company that has gotten pummeled by Apple for selling Mac clones apparently "does not intend to shut down permanently," according to K. A. D. Camera of legal firm Camera & Sibley. According to him, they're still working on selling their Rebel EFI product (also currently entangled in legal problems), and they're planning on pushing forward on their antitrust case against Apple (which has already been thrown out once). We're not sure where they'll get the money for all of this legal action after already being ordered to give a couple million dollars to Apple, but maybe those 768 computers they sold made more than we thought. There is one bright point in all of this: while Rebel EFI is still listed as out of stock on their website, they are selling official Psystar t-shirts for $15 which they say will also include a Rebel EFI authorization code later on and now those appear to be gone too! I don't know about you (and I don't really want to give these guys any credit card information), but one of those shirts would look great sitting under my tree later this week. If this whole installing-OS X-on-unauthorized-hardware-in-violation-of-Apple's-EULA thing doesn't work out for Psystar, maybe they can have a second life as a merch vendor.
FTC won't ask Intel to break up
The Federal Trade Commission may have a pretty big beef with Intel, but it looks like won't be going as far as to seek a breakup of the company. That word comes straight from the director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, Richard Feinstein, who flatly told reporters yesterday that the FTC has "no goal of breaking up Intel." In case you missed it, this follows a lawsuit that the FTC filed against Intel earlier in the day yesterday, which alleges that the company has engaged in "anticompetitive tactics." As you can see above, NVIDIA has already responded to that development in its usual manner. [Image courtesy Intel's Insides / NVIDIA]
FTC sues Intel for alleged monopoly abuse
Here we go, folks. FTC is suing Intel for what it sees to be "anticompetitive tactics." The FTC has been circling this debate since last year, but now it has followed in the steps of the EU, and the New York attorney general (but no longer a cash-flush AMD) in prosecuting the chip giant. The FTC claims, among other things, that Intel has abused its monopoly position to "[wage] a systematic campaign to shut out rivals' competing microchips by cutting off their access to the marketplace." Tough words. The FTC says that Intel messed with a compiler to cheat competitors out of performance gains, has "stifled innovation" and "harmed consumers." The damages the FTC is after are a bit less clear: mainly it wants to stop Intel from keeping out competition or building or modifying its own products to impair the performance of other products. We'll be diving into the implications of this as we find out more, but it looks like Christmas came early for NVIDIA. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
EU settles affairs with Microsoft, no fines this time
Momentous moment alert -- the EU has just closed the book on its lengthy investigation into potential Microsoft antitrust violations. Lasting through nearly the entire noughties, The European Commission's dissatisfaction with what it perceived as monopolistic practices from Redmond has resulted in some hefty fines over the years, but the conclusion to hostilities has been pleasingly amicable. In exchange for Microsoft's legally binding promise to offer up to 12 other browsers alongside its own, the European executive will give the company a clean bill of competition-friendly health. All this means is that the ballot screen will be around on Windows operating systems for at least the next five years (starting in mid-March 2010), which should give the EU plenty of time to think up the next batch of allegations to throw Microsoft's way.
Intel forks over the $1.25 billion settlement to AMD, apparently had it 'just laying around'
Remember that time you owed your buddy for the take out and then you found $20 in the couch? This is kind of like that. Except instead of "take out" we're talking "accusations of anticompetitive practices and stolen IP," and instead of "$20" we're referring to the $1.25 billion check that Intel just shot into the arm of AMD, as per agreement. Intel certainly isn't out of the woods yet with this anticompetitive stuff, but with the biggest CPU monkey off its back and some fancy patent cross-licensing between the companies, we should hopefully see the benefits of this in better and faster chips from both chip giants in the somewhat distant future.
Microsoft reportedly randomizing browser ballots to appease EU, asks 'are you happy now?'
Some might say that Microsoft just can't catch a break. Others might argue that it's getting exactly what it deserves. Whatever your take on the situation, it seems as if Microsoft may finally have the EU off of its monstrous back (at least momentarily), as a report has surfaced noting that said software giant is nearing approval for a new browser ballot screen demanded by the European Commission. As you well know by now, rivals Mozilla, Opera and Google all submitted change requests to EU regulators in hopes of having browser selection boxes randomized and not displayed within Internet Explorer. Purportedly, the all-clear will come down on December 15th (or earlier), and the antitrust case will be settled as Windows customers have a clearer choice when it comes to selecting a go-to browser from day one. 'Course, said ballot screen wouldn't be pushed out to existing users until early next year, but when it goes live users will be able to decide between Chrome, Firefox, IE, Opera and Safari for their browsing needs. Huzzah!
FTC moseys into Intel / NVIDIA dispute
The dispute between Intel and NVIDIA has already reached legendary proportions, and it looks like now even the FTC is getting involved as a result of its longstanding investigation into Intel regarding another matter. While Intel just settled the antitrust fight with AMD that originally kick-started the investigation last month, the FTC is now reportedly talking to NVIDIA to see if its numerous complaints against the chipmaker actually hold water. While complete details are expectedly light and none of the parties involved are saying much on the record, some "people familiar with the matter" say that the FTC is trying to determine if a lawsuit filed by Intel earlier this year is nothing more than an effort to disrupt NVIDIA's business. Of course, things could well expand from there, considering what the FTC has waded into.
EU closes antitrust investigation into Qualcomm, doesn't levy fines
Qualcomm has spent an awful lot of time over the past few years dealing with lawsuits and nastygrams, but it looks as if things will be totally different in the new decade. Just months after Qualcomm and Broadcom settled their differences, the European Commission has agreed to drop a four-year antitrust investigation without levying the first fine or absolving the company. The reason? The entity stated that "companies that objected to Qualcomm's pricing for its technology have all withdrawn their complaints or are planning to withdraw them." Sounds like a reasonable reason to let bygones be bygones, no?
Datel sues Microsoft, wants its Xbox 360 market back
Seems like we just can't go a week without some corporate power plays or mudslinging making our pages. Back in October, Datel promised it would "remedy" the situation created by Microsoft's forthcoming (now present) Dashboard update locking out its higher capacity memory modules. The accessory company was the first (and only) third-party supplier of memory cards for the Xbox 360, but it seems that MS took a dislike to the MicroSD-expandable Max Memory units and has since taken the unusual step of downgrading the console to being able to read only chips up to 512MB, essentially taking Datel's 2GB+ wares out of commission. Yeah, classy. Datel's retaliation is in the finest Anglo-Saxon legal tradition, namely to assert antitrust concerns and to claim its right to act as a competitor to Microsoft in the memory market for Redmond's own console. It all sounds rather silly to us too, and could probably have been avoided by a rational compromise, but what's the fun in that?
Intel shells out $1.25 billion to settle all AMD litigation
Intel sure sells a lot of chips, but man -- it sure blows a lot of that profit on lawyers. Just months after it got nailed with a $1.45 billion fine from the EU in an AMD antitrust case, nearly two years after AMD hit Intel with another antitrust probe and nearly 1.5 years after the FTC sparked up an investigation of its own, Intel has finally decided to pony up in order to rid itself of one of those back-riding monkeys. In an admittedly brief joint announcement released simultaneously by both firms today, Intel has agreed to cough up a whopping $1.25 billion in order to settle "all antitrust and IP disputes" with AMD. In fact, the pair went so far as to say the following: "While the relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and enables the companies to focus all of our efforts on product innovation and development." Aside from AMD's coffers filling up with cash, the agreement also gives both firms patent rights from a new 5-year cross license agreement. Of course, we're betting that this isn't the end of this exceptionally bitter rivalry, and we highly doubt Intel wrote a check this large while grinning from ear-to-ear. That said, we're eager to see what AMD does with its newfound cheddar, and if we had our druthers, we'd sit back and watch it invest heavily into beating Intel to the punch with its next few platforms.
