antitrust
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Qualcomm hit with antitrust case from European Commission
Qualcomm finding itself in more legal trouble? Say it ain't so! Sure enough, the chip maker is now facing even more heat as the European Commission "has launched formal antitrust proceedings" against it after "mobile phone manufacturers complained it charged far too much for vital technology licenses." The move had reportedly been expected for some time, and while the Commission noted that this would be considered "a matter of priority," no deadline was immediately set for a resolution. Apparently, Qualcomm feels that mobile phone makers were trying to "stifle the competition that it brought to the market," and while the probe could eventually be scrapped, the other outcomes are likely to involve Qualcomm coughing up some dough unless it proves that the allegations were without merit.
Microsoft contritely responds to EU decision
Sounding like a child who's just been caught with a hand in the proverbial cookie jar, Microsoft issued a decidedly contrite, non-confrontational response this afternoon to the decision handed down earlier today by a European Grand Chamber of the Court of First Instance, thanking the court for its time and promising to take whatever steps are necessary to comply with the ruling. While playing up its commitment to Europe, aspirations for increased transparency, and continuing changes to its business practices, Redmond Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith also admitted that "we all have to acknowledge that there are some issues that do remain open" and even welcomed "continued discussion to adhere to our duties with the European Commission." Notably absent from Microsoft's response was any mention of an appeal, and while the topic does seem to have been broached in post-statement Q&A, the company's press release conveniently lists all questions as being asked "off mike" -- therefore, the only clue we have regarding future plans is Smith's assertion that "I don't want to talk about what will come next in terms of the legal process." In other words, it sounds like this case may well enter its second decade before a final decision is reached.
EU rules on Microsoft antitrust appeal: Bad news for Microsoft
The 15-month deliberation into Microsoft's appeal to the European ruling in their anti-trust case is over. The news is pretty bad for Microsoft as their appeal has been dismissed. As such, the $688 million fine imposed in 2004 stands and Microsoft must pay 80% of the Commission's legal costs as additional insult. Microsoft did succeed at abolishing the independent monitoring trustee established to supervise Microsoft's behavior. Microsoft can still appeal to the highest court in Europe so this isn't over by any stretch of the imagination.
Microsoft to learn its EU antitrust fate tomorrow
Microsoft will be in a familiar position tomorrow when it stands before a European Grand Chamber of the Court of First Instance, where the special 13-judge tribunal will be issuing its final verdict in an antitrust case that has been dragging on since long after the software giant finished its controversial little dance with the Department of Justice here in the US. According to Reuters, the five-point ruling will be handed down in Brussels on live TV at 3.30AM EDT, and will determine the validity of the European Commission's 2004 decision against Redmond on issues of bundling and interoperability as well as the subsequent sanctions that have totaled hundreds of millions of dollars to date. The best case scenario for Microsoft would see the court overturning the underlying decisions -- automatically canceling the sanctions -- while the EU obviously hopes that its rulings and penalties will be upheld, effectively giving it a mandate to press for even more concessions along with increased leverage against other non-compliant companies. We'll have the decision for you immediately after it's released, so set your alarms folks....
South Korean investigation finds Intel violated antitrust laws
It wasn't all that long ago that the European Commission slapped Intel with some fairly significant antitrust charges, and it now looks like South Korea is set to do the same. According to Business Journal, after a two-year investigation, the country's Fair Trade Commission has concluded that Intel did in fact violate South Korea's antitrust laws, in particular by offering rebates to computer makers in order to sway them away from rivals like AMD. While there's no word on what penalties Intel might face just yet, Business Journal is reporting that sanctions should be decided by the FTC by October.
European Commission set to talk antitrust with Apple, music labels
Last we heard anything about Apple's antitrust troubles in Europe was in June, when the company issued a last-minute response to the European Commission's investigation into the matter. Now, according to Ars Technica, Apple is getting ready to meet directly with the EC, with a number of music labels also along for the ride. The hearings, dealing with alleged unfair pricing practices of Apple's iTunes stores in Europe, will take place September 19th and 20th, although the EC is apparently stressing that they will not lead directly to a final decision. Interestingly, EMI, Universal Music Group, and Sony BMG will each be meeting with the EC and Apple separately. That's apparently being done in order to protect the "confidential nature" of each company's agreement with Apple.
AMD's "Break Free" website targets Intel's business practices
In the good-old-days, if a corporation felt it had been infringed upon or held back in some way, a team of lawyers, some damning evidence, and an attitude of righteous fury would be combined to get some "justice," and that would be that. But times have changed, and nowadays things tend to get a little more personal -- especially when it comes to Intel and AMD. The latest round of jabs traded between the two chip-makers comes from the beleaguered AMD camp, which has launched an entire website (using the unsubtle name "Break Free") dedicated to smack-talking Intel and its business practices. In particular, the site excitedly covers the recent antitrust charges brought against the company by the European Commission, and reiterates the popular AMD claim that Intel stifles competition and innovation by monopolizing the market. The website also details how the diabolical chip-manufacturer steals babies in the night, was responsible for the JFK assassination, and spits in your food when you're not looking.[Via EETimes]
Intel responds to EU charges, deems actions 'beneficial' to consumers
Shortly after the European Commission issued a Statement of Objections against Intel asseverating that it used unfair and unlawful tactics against AMD, Intel has fired back a statement of its own in response. Put simply, Intel declared that it is "confident that the microprocessor market segment is functioning normally and that Intel's conduct has been lawful, pro-competitive, and beneficial to consumers." Furthermore, the company noted that while it would "certainly have preferred to avoid the cost and inconvenience of establishing that its competitive conduct in Europe has been lawful, the Commission's decision to issue a Statement of Objections means that at last Intel will have the opportunity to hear and respond to the allegations made by our primary competitor." Notably, the chip giant even mentions that the case is actually "based on complaints from a direct competitor rather than customers or consumers," and concludes by suggesting that when "competitors perform and execute, the market rewards them." Settle in folks, this one has just begun.[Via TheRegister]
Microsoft's Hungarian offices raided in antitrust probe
Microsoft's squeaky-clean image took quite a beating this week: not only was the company accused of "patent terrorism," its Hungarian offices were raided in an antitrust investigation. Hungarian officials at the state competition authority GVH say Microsoft abused its market position to put the squeeze on local distributors, and that the raid was necessary to find evidence of "a system of conditions or favors with the most significant software distributors" that made it "disadvantageous for them to sell competing products." The investigation is slated to take up to 180 days before authorities have to either file or ask for an extension. Microsoft says it's "cooperating fully," but hasn't issued any further comment -- which is interesting, because you'd think the PR staff would have some stock answers to European antitrust investigations by now.
European Commission issues antitrust charges against Intel
Well they've been sniffing around the chip giant for quite some time now, but the European Commission has finally issued "formal charges against Intel for allegedly using illegal tactics against smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices," and according to a spokesperson for the EC, "the statement of objections has been sent." Supposedly, the EU's top antitrust regulator "has spent years investigating Intel's tactics to determine whether it acted unfairly to preserve its dominance over AMD," and now the time has finally come for the hammer to drop. Sadly, further details about the grievances have yet to be divulged, but we doubt Intel, who declined to comment on the situation, will be brushing this off its shoulders anytime soon.
European Commission looks into Blu-ray studio agreements
European regulators have begun an inquiry into possible antitrust and anticompetitive practices by the Blu-ray Disc Association as it relates to agreements and restrictions on producing content for Blu-ray and its competing high-definition format, HD DVD. At the urging of some in the HD DVD camp, the European Commission has sent letters to many of the Hollywood studios asking them to produce any correspondence relating to their backing of the Blu-ray format. Of the major studios, Sony, Disney, Fox, Lions Gate, and MGM only release titles on Blu-ray, while only Universal is exclusive to HD DVD. Analysts say much is riding on the outcome of which format wins, with sales of content and players as a big incentive for either side. Is this inquiry just a case of sour grapes by HD DVD that sees itself as in trouble while Blu-ray has better agreements with studios? Or is the BDA not playing fair by using those vertical relationships to form a de facto monopoly? Those in the EU aim to find out.[Thanks, LJKelley]
Apple responds to EU's concerns over iTunes pricing
It looks like Apple waited 'till the last minute to respond to the EU's latest demand for answers in its longstanding investigation into the company's iTunes pricing practices, coming in just under an already extended midnight deadline yesterday. Of course, nobody's saying exactly what Apple's response entailed, with the EU only going so far as to say that they are "carefully" studying it. The EU's prime concern here is Apple's practice of preventing users in one country from downloading music intended for another which, in some cases, results in some users paying more for music than others. No word on what'll happen next, although we somehow doubt this latest response will suddenly put the EU at ease.[Via MacNN]
Apple under European antitrust scrutiny
The AP reports that the European Commission has launched an antitrust probe into iTunes. According to the article a single track costs $1.56 in the UK, $1.44 in Denmark and $1.32 in Germany and Belgium, while at the same time users are restricted to the iTunes store of their country of origin. "Consumers are thus restricted in their choice of where to buy music and consequently what music is available, and at what price," the commission said in its statement. Apple's spokesman said it was prevented from creating a single European store by its contracts with music labels and publishers and the rights they negotiated with them. This investigation is apparently separate from the whole ongoing Apple/DRM foofaraw.
Antitrust troubles in Cupertino? Apple DRM suit explained
In its SEC filing last week, Apple revealed a multitude of legal nags it was dealing with, most notable being that iPod-iTunes class action lawsuit, which brings with it some hefty antitrust allegations. Tucker vs. Apple Computer, which was originally filed on July 21st, alleges that "Apple has engaged in tying and monopolizing behavior, placing unneeded and unjustifiable technological restrictions on its most popular products in an effort to restrict consumer choice and restrain what little remains of its competition in the digital music markets." It also claims that by removing WMA functionality from those Portal Player chips is tantamount to "crippleware," with Apple's insistence on AAC being an "illegal tie in violation of antitrust laws." Some hefty claims, to which Apple responded in its request for dismissal on November 6 that "imposing a duty of interoperability would inhibit the very innovation and technological advances that the antitrust laws are designed to promote." US District Judge James put the kibosh on any dismissal nonsense, saying "the existence of valid business reasons in antitrust cases is generally a question of fact not appropriate for resolution at the motion to dismiss stage." Hard to say how this all will go down when the case continues at a "case management conference" on January 22nd, and the very fact of DRM-free CD rips working quite harmoniously with the iPod seem to put the case in a different light than those Microsoft antitrust woes of yore, but we'll be sure keeping an eye on this one all the same.
LCD makers under price-fixing investigation
In light of our recent post about another Samsung exec falling on his sword in the DRAM price-fixing scandal and the current DoJ scrutiny of the graphics card industry, commetor, otakucode, reminds us about the developing LCD antitrust story. (Maybe this will take our minds off the SRAM incident.)LCD screens are becoming commodities, being produced for phones, TVs, computers, game systems, MP3 players, and many more devices. With the screens being so common, their cost -- and profit -- naturally falls, so what's a little collusion among friends?LG.Philips, Samsung, Sharp, and others have been contacted by authorities in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and/or Korea about working together to keep LCD prices high; so far, the investigation relates to devices from 2003 and 2004.We always thought LCDs were expensive, especially a few years ago. We're interested in finding out if we're just miserly or if the prices have been artificially high. Probably both.Read:LCD Price-Fixing Investigation Goes GlobalUPDATE: Regulatory Probe of LCD Market Widens[Thanks, otakucode!]
The fix is in: Another Samsung exec falls in DRAM conspiracy
The fifth Samsung executive has agreed to a 10-month prison sentence, pleading guilty to conspiring with other companies to fix DRAM prices. Since 2003, the ongoing U.S. Department of Justice investigation has charged four vendors in the scandal. While Samsung already pleaded guilty and was fined $300 million a year ago, this latest plea relates to OEM price-fixing over 2001 and 2002; if you bought a computer from Dell, HP, Gateway, or Apple, those companies likely passed the extra costs on to you.Once a product becomes a commodity -- like RAM -- the pressure for collusion seems to rise because price is the main product difference; all vendors lose in a price war. We don't think that video cards and GPUs are interchangeable like RAM, but is the graphic industry using similar tricks?See also:Uh-oh! Sony part of DoJ's inquiry into SRAM salesFeds tracking AMD/ATI, Nvidia in antitrust probe
Feds tracking AMD/ATI, Nvidia in antitrust probe
The Merc reports about a federal antitrust probe -- the best kind of probe -- into the graphics-card industry. Nvidia and ATI -- through recent buyer AMD -- have been served with subpoenas asking for company documents that go back to the late '90s. The Justice Department wants records about "customers, product lines, competition, pricing of products, prices of competitors' products, market studies, and product volumes," according to Nvidia mouthpiece Michael Hara, as quoted in the article.The feds haven't described the exact nature of the investigation and haven't made any allegations, saying only that it relates to "anti-competitive practices." But the probe is most likely about collusion and price-fixing between graphics card companies. Basically, competing companies agree to set similar price points, keeping them artificially high, while limiting the affect of market forces to lower prices.Could this mean the beginning of the end of $600 -- or more -- enthusiast graphics cards? Have console prices been (slightly) higher because of artificial GPU costs? As consumers, we can only hope, but it'll take many months before we learn if the companies broke any laws.
For AMD, NVIDIA, nothing says "holiday greetings" like federal subpoenas
You can color us ignorant here, but we sort of figured that after all those regulatory hoops AMD jumped through in the process of getting approval for its ATI acquisition, the DOJ would've wrapped up any antitrust reservations it might have before the $5.4 billion deal went down. But for whatever reason, the Justice Department picked late Thursday to slap AMD with a federal subpoena regarding an investigation into possible antitrust violations in the graphics card biz. As if this wasn't weird enough, we just got word that NVIDIA has been slapped with a similar subpoena, with just as little explanation as to why. Shares are down for each company, both of which hold about 25 percent of the graphics card market, with Intel managing the rest. Intel apparently hasn't received a subpoena yet, but a spokesman said he was checking with the company lawyers just to make sure. According to analyst Nicholas Aberle, "It's a bit of a headscratcher. I don't know exactly what the angle is from the DOJ." We're just as much in the dark, but we'll definitely be keeping an eye on the situation.Read - AMD Receives Federal SubpoenaRead - AMD, NVIDIA hit by graphics chip probe
US Justice Department probing Sony, others for SRAM doings
These kids just can't catch a break. The folks at Sony, fresh off their battery debacle, and struggling to make any sort of relevant quantity for next month's PS3 launch, are being probed by the US Justice Department's antitrust division in regards to the company's SRAM biz. Sony, which did $27.7 million worth of SRAM business last year, says it "intends to cooperate fully with the DOJ in what appears to be an industry-wide inquiry," but that's about all the info we've got so far. Apparently US-based Cypress Semiconductor is also under investigation for similar SRAM doings, and Mitsubishi is even in some retroactive trouble, but there's no word if the situation is similar to the price-fixing scandal that Samsung and others got busted for earlier this year. We'll be keeping an eye on this investigation as it develops. It seems unlikely that any sort of accusations that could come out of this could do much damage to Sony's relatively small share in the industry, but we really wouldn't mind a feel-good puff piece on Sony now and then -- you know, just for a change of pace.
Vista to ship on time in EU after all
Earlier today we reported the Sony's PS3 would not be delayed in Europe, and now Microsoft is getting the same break as well. The Redmond crew has worked out its differences with the European Commission's antitrust concerns, which will let Microsoft release Vista on schedule (relatively speaking, anyway). Microsoft finally agreed to modify Vista to suit the demands of European as well as South Korean regulators -- we're not exactly sure what that means, but the Agence France Presse reports: "The changes notably will make it easier for users to pick the internet search provider of their choice and allow other firms greater access to Vista's security components." So yeah, Vista's got that going for it now.
