European Commission
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Samsung proposes five-year patent lawsuit hiatus to escape EU antitrust warnings
Almost 20 months after the European Commission (EC) formally launched an investigation into its patent licensing practices, Samsung believes it has come up with an answer. Today, the EC published an open call for comments on the Korean manufacturer's proposal relating to the abuse of standard essential mobile patents (SEPs). In that respect, Samsung says it will not seek an injunction against any company, including Apple, wishing to license its patents for a period of five years. The company says it will also agree to a negotiation period of up to 12 months, after which it will rely on a court or arbitrator to draw up an agreement. Google-owned Motorola also found itself in a similar position after the Commission opened an investigation into its anti-competitive practices against Apple and Microsoft in 2012. The EC hopes that by limiting Samsung's ability to impose increased royalty rates, competitors will be able to license its patents and provide consumers with more product choice. Should Samsung be found guilty, it could face a multi-billion dollar fine based on a share of its mobile profits.
Penguin offers to end ebook deals with Apple
Apple's ebook price-fixing cases are now in the settlement stage in the US and Europe, and the latest word from the EU is that Penguin has become the last publisher to offer to end ebook pricing restriction deals with Apple. In December of 2012, Apple and the other four publishers named in the European Commission price fixing case agreed to settle by allowing retailers to set their own prices or discounts for the next two years and drop the "most-favored nation" contracts for five years. With this latest move by Penguin, all of the parties involved have now settled the concerns of the European Commission and this chapter of Apple history comes to a close. The damages to be levied against Apple in the US Department of Justice price-fixing case settlement have yet to be decided.
Daily Update for July 25, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
UKIE 'pretty confident' UK tax relief will go through despite EU doubts
UK gaming trade body UKIE is "pretty confident" the country's tax break proposal will be approved by the European Union and finally put into place, nullifying the doubts raised by the EU Commission over taxpayers contributing to the proposed relief. Last year, the UK government approved the much-needed breaks for the country's ailing games sector, set to provide 25 percent tax relief on 80 percent of the budget for qualifying UK-made games. Then in April of this year, the European Commission put the proposal on hold by announcing an in-depth investigation, raising doubts over whether the relief was needed, and the potential for positive discrimination towards the UK and a resultant "subsidy race" between EU states. Speaking to Joystiq, UKIE CEO Dr Jo Twist said her organization expects the proposal to be approved by the EU Commission despite those doubts, although there are apparent concerns over how long the process will take. "I think we're pretty confident it'll go through," Dr Twist told us."We know that the [UK] government is 100 percent committed - across all parties, as well, there's 100 percent commitment to get this through. UKIE also approached other creative industries - so film, animation, and TV - and they wrote a letter of support to say 'we want the games industry to have tax credits just like we do now.'" "We sort of weren't altogether surprised that [the European Commission] did this because the European Union is the European Union, and they have to go through these processes and ask the questions and make sure that they're asking the right questions," she added.
Daily Update for April 19, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Penguin offers settlement in European Commission investigation into e-book price-fixing
The European Commission has been investigating Apple and major book publishers over e-book price-fixing since late 2011. Today the EC published a notice on its website inviting comments on Penguin's proposal to end its existing pricing agreements with Apple and refrain from entering into similar agreements for five years. Last September, a proposal was put forward by Apple, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, Macmillan and HarperColllins to let retailers set the price of e-books at any price for the next two years, as long as the discounts don't exceed the sales commissions the retailer gets from the publisher. It appears that Penguin, the sole holdout, is offering a similar proposal in order to settle. The European Commission has yet to accept the offer made by Apple and the publishers, but if it does, the investigation by the EC into the price-fixing agreements in Europe would be closed. The company is still being investigated in a similar e-book pricing case in the US, the lone holdout after Macmillan settled with the US Department of Justice in February -- the last publisher to do so.
European investigators to look at Apple carrier deals for possible antitrust violations
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 about their contracts with Apple. "We have been contacted by industry participants and we are monitoring the situation, but no antitrust case has been opened," said Joaquín Almunia, the EU's competition commissioner, in a statement provided to The New York Times through spokesperson Antoine Colombani. Sources, who were not identified by NYT, claim the focus of this inquiry are smaller European carriers, which have allegedly signed very strict contracts to carry the iPhone. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris told The New York Times, "Our contracts fully comply with local laws wherever we do business, including the EU."
Daily Update for December 28, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
EU set to charge Samsung in Apple antitrust case
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 for the company's use of injunctions against Apple in the region. The commission's stance is that the injunctions may have run afoul of antitrust guidelines. Once Samsung has some time to review the specific charges it will be facing, the company will have a chance to plead its case in writing and request a hearing be held. Depending on the outcome, Samsung could be fined as much as 10 percent of the company's total annual revenue. [Via: The Verge]
European Commission clears 2GHz bands for LTE use by 2014, claims 4G pipes wider than the US
European LTE deployments might just be getting started, but the European Commission is already trying to head off any bandwidth problems at the pass. The organization has ordered that 120MHz of normally 3G-only spectrum around the 2GHz band has to be reusable for LTE and other 4G networks by June 30th, 2014. Once the airwaves loosen up, the Commission sees its home continent having an advantage over an LTE-happy US: it expects to have as much as 1GHz of spectrum available for 4G, or potentially twice as much as what Americans might claim. Officials are also mulling plans to repurpose extra slices of 2GHz spectrum that haven't even been used for 3G and could offer that much more headroom. While an edge over the US in bandwidth might not last after policy changes, it's hard to complain if the EC move leads to future smartphones whose downloads stay speedy.
Apple facing European investigation into how it sells AppleCare
Ever hemmed and hawed over buying AppleCare with your shiny new gadget? European chiefs are worried that you don't know all of your rights. They're concerned that Cupertino's warranty-selling practices hide the fact that all customers are entitled to a statutory two-year warranty to fix defects present at sale. The company has already had to open its checkbook to Italian regulators, but pointed out that the protection plan is there to remedy issues that may crop up after you've taken your new toy from its perfectly-engineered box. Nevertheless, commissioner Viviane Reding is pushing for a Europe-wide inquiry into the company, contacting all 27 member states to look into the matter. In the meantime, we're left working out how many times we're likely to drop our new device in the next three years.
European Commission set to fine Microsoft over 2009 browser compliance breach
The European Commission is planning to fine Microsoft for its failure to adhere to a 2009 ruling that required the software giant to offer customers a choice of default web browser. The EU Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almuni, advised the press that a formal proceeding into the breach -- which Microsoft itself acknowledges -- has begun. Reuters reports that should Microsoft be found on the wrong side of the law, that the resulting fine could be as much as 10 percent of its global turnover. Whether the end sum would be as high as this remains to be seen, but given recent events, you can expected some hurried shuffling of paper in Redmond's accounts department.
Apple appeases European lawmakers with Lightning-to-microUSB adapter
We do love products that only exist to circumvent the finer points of legislation (hello there, Aston Martin Cygnet), but even better are the ones that actually serve a purpose. To comply with the European Commission's insistence that all smartphones must have a microUSB connector, Apple is putting out a Euro-specific adapter for its new Lightning standard. It's turned up in the UK and French stores so far, setting you back £15 / €19 ($25) -- and we imagine it won't be long before some entrepreneurial soul starts buying them in bulk to sell to microUSB users Stateside.
European Commission clears Vodafone, Telefonica UK and Everything Everywhere's mobile wallet and advertising plans
Everything Everywhere's been keeping itself plenty busy on the mobile wallet frontier and its involvement with the slow-burning alliance with Telefonica UK (O2) and Vodafone has finally been given a nod of approval from the European Commission. The joint venture aims to "remove a number of barriers" that are apparently hampering the phone networks' efforts, while it will allow businesses to connect with a single mobile payments system compatible with the majority of the UK's carriers. Take a look at more specifics (including the less thrilling advertising details) at the press release after the break.
European Commission pushes for spectrum sharing, sees 5GHz WiFi getting a lift
The European Commission is well aware that we need spectrum. Rather than make everyone fight for their piece, though, the agency wants us to hug it out. It's proposing a spectrum change that would bring in "much more dynamic sharing" of both licensed and unlicensed radio frequencies. While nothing's definite at this point, the EC's Digital Agenda representative Ryan Heath mentions that the move could give more capacity to WiFi in the unlicensed 5GHz space -- no doubt a relief for anyone who's dealt with an overwhelmed public hotspot. That's not to say that carriers won't benefit. Officials want to provide perks by offering "guaranteed rights" to providers and anyone else that has to share licensed airwaves with others. The sharing initiative is a long distance away from having an impact given that the Commission is calling for help from the European Council and Parliament just to get started, but it could be an important step towards harmony in a land where unoccupied airwaves are rare.
Apple and publishers offer deal to put price fixing scandal behind them in EU
In the US, the e-book price fixing scandal appears to be winding towards its inevitable conclusion. Many of the publishers settled with the DOJ right off the bat, and now the states themselves have gotten three publishing houses to cough up $69 million in their own agreement. (Of course, Apple, Macmillan and Penguin have all decided to go the trial route, but we'll have to wait till next year to see how that plays out.) In Europe, the battle is still raging on, but Reuters is reporting that the accused are offering concessions in a bid to put the antitrust allegations behind them. The only name missing from the list is Penguin, which may or may not be part of the plea deal. Not all the details of the proposals have been revealed yet, and there's no guarantee the commission will accept them. The heart of the settlement, however, would involve allowing Amazon to sell e-books at a discounted price for two years. Would cheaper Kindle books be good, clean fun for the whole family? Sure, but it certainly pales in comparison to the potential penalties if Apple and their publishing partners go to trial.
Everything Everywhere completes sale of spectrum to Three, waits for regulators approval
Three and Everything Everywhere have completed the sale of two 15MHz blocks of the 1,800MHz spectrum, announced yesterday. It follows Ofcom's controversial decision to let the latter network queue-jump to offer LTE services in the UK before the official auction process begins. Three won't be able to use its new toy until its frenemy has vacated it, which could be as late as September next year, but could start preparing 4G internet shortly after. The sale was made due to merger requirements by the European Commission, but still needs approval from Ofcom, but given that it's already handed the company an unassailable head-start, we hardly think it'll be too concerned by the deal.
New EU legislation requires cars to include autonomous braking system
While we're still a long way from living the fully autonomous car dream, baby steps are being taken. The EU evidently shares this dream, and has passed regulations that will require new cars to have emergency self-braking systems (known as autonomous emergency braking, or AEB) if they want to achieve a five-star safety rating. The systems can use radar, laser or video to detect when obstructions or pedestrians are present, and a recent study suggests that the technology reduces accidents by up to 27 percent. Commercial vehicles will have to sport the systems from November next year, and everything else from 2014. Safety aside, we're thinking that anything that can help prevent rear-ending our new ride, is definitely a welcome addition.
European Commission investigating 13 companies for optical drive price fixing
The European Commission is digging it its heels and officially launching an investigation into 13 companies for allegedly rigging bids on optical drives with at least two major OEMs. The companies haven't been named, but it's safe to assume if the Commission is getting involved these aren't two-bit players selling cheap knockoffs. With the Statement of Objections issued, now its a matter of gathering evidence and formally charging those it can build a case against. With an e-book investigation underway and a DRAM conspiracy not far in its past, the existence of an optical drive cartel is probably not the sort of news the Commission wants to hear right now. Sadly, there's not much detail to share, but you'll find the complete and brief PR after the break. Now its just time to sit back and wait to see what companies we're allowed to start hating next.
Intel appeals record-setting $1.45 billion antitrust fine... from 2009
It's been more than three years since being slapped with a record-setting €1.06 billion (roughly $1.45 billion) antitrust fine by the EU, and Intel is finally getting around to putting an appeal in motion. The request for a reversal is going to the second highest court in the union, the General Court in Luxembourg, where Intel's lawyers plan to argue that the evidence used to convict the company was "profoundly inadequate." The Commission that levied the fine was also criticized the European Ombudsman for failures in record keeping and procedure during the original investigation. However, the prosecution is sticking steadfast to its argument that rebates handed out by Chipzilla were clearly a clever ploy to hide its anti-competitive practices. Should the hearing not go Intel's way, there is one last stop on its journey -- the EU's Court of Justice. A loss there would require the rather sizable fine be paid.
