price-fixing
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Germany to probe whether Amazon influenced prices during the pandemic
Germany has launched a probe into Amazon’s pricing policies with third-party stores on its site.
Amazon, DOJ ask consumers to report coronavirus price gouging
Since the coronavirus outbreak began, Amazon has seen a "significant increase in demand," especially for medical and cleaning supplies. It has also seen third-party retailers raising prices on things like masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant sprays. Now, Amazon is asking consumers to cooperate with a Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into coronavirus price gouging.
Supreme Court rules against Apple in App Store price fixing case
The Supreme Court has ruled against Apple in a long-standing case over price fixing in the App Store, in a decision that allows iPhone owners to proceed with a lawsuit against the company. The court heard arguments in the case in November, and the decision was expected sometime this spring.
Judge orders Apple to stop making special pacts with e-book publishers
After plenty of tussling over the DoJ's proposed injunction against Apple, preventing it from striking untoward pricing deals with e-book publishers, a judge at the Southern District Court of New York has today laid down the law. The final injunction prevents Apple from setting prices with any of its partners for terms of between two and four years, with the exact term depending on which publisher it's working with and how long they originally took to settle with the DoJ -- which means Apple's relationship with Macmillan faces the harshest restriction. Crucially, Apple also won't be able to make "most favored nation" pacts, in which e-book prices and discounts are set across a range of publishers or retailers. This particular bit of the injunction will last for five years -- a lengthy period of time in this industry, and one that can be extended by the court if it sees fit, but hardly the ten-year term that Apple's lawyers initially feared. Finally, another key clause prevents Apple from doing business with publishers behind closed doors. For the next two years, Cupertino will have to bring in an independent third party to serve as an "Antitrust compliance officer" in all deals. Sounds humiliating, perhaps, but again, given the relatively short duration, it could have been a lot worse.
E-book publishers side with Apple, ask DoJ to scrap new price-fixing rules
Apparently Apple isn't the only company thinking the US Department of Justice's recently imposed remedies against it were "draconian." US publishers HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin and others have also ganged up on the DOJ with a legal brief opposing the punitive restrictions. In it, they say the watchdog is "attempting to impose a specific business model on the publishing industry," despite assertions it wouldn't play that role. If you'll recall, Apple was recently found guilty of price-fixing following charges filed last year. Now, the Justice Department is trying to force Apple to end its current agreements with the publishers and let rival e-book retailers like Amazon link to their own online stores. Apple earlier condemned the decision, saying it was "wildly out of proportion to any... wrongdoing or potential harm." The publishers added that it effectively punishes them by prohibiting the so-called agency model, which lets them set their own prices for e-books and other media. A similar affair was settled rather more amicably in Europe, meanwhile, when the same band of publishers agreed to allow other retailers to sell e-books cheaper than Apple does, if they so choose. Evidently, they feel the DOJ overstepped its bounds in the US and seem intent to back Apple to the bitter end.
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
Barnes & Noble VP delivers a bruising blow to DOJ case against Apple
Apple received a boost in its defense against the Department of Justice allegations about e-book price-fixing yesterday from a company that had already settled in the case: Barnes & Noble. The bookseller's Vice President of Digital Content, Theresa Horner, told the court that her company was in the process of negotiating agency pricing deals with publishers well before Apple came into the e-book market. The DOJ has repeatedly attempted to paint Apple as the nefarious ringleader conspiring with book publishers to raise prices on e-books. During her court appearance, Horner essentially shut down that argument by noting that Apple had nothing to do with Barnes & Noble talking with book publishers about agency pricing, which means that publishers set book prices rather than resellers. Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch apparently proposed the idea to publishing companies in late 2009, before Apple even started negotiations with the same companies. Lynch felt that agency pricing was a must if his company was to compete and make money against Amazon's Kindle bookstore. The DOJ's case against Apple has received other blows. Penguin CEO David Shanks told the court that Apple seemed indifferent to the e-book market and was going to walk away from the market if it couldn't ink deals with publishers. Other evidence shows that even Amazon was working on the same agency pricing deals with publishers, with identical price-matching terms (i.e., other retailers couldn't sell e-books at lower prices) to what Apple and Barnes & Noble eventually achieved with their deals. Judge Denise Cote heard the case and felt before the trial that the DOJ had a strong case against Apple. Yesterday, at a point when Apple was going to demonstrate the "page curl" feature devised by Steve Jobs, Cote interrupted by saying "I have an iPad. I love my iPad. I have seen this feature." In contrast to her start-of-trial comments, Cote noted yesterday, "It seems to me the issues have somewhat shifted during the course of the trial. Things change. People have to stay nimble. I'm looking forward to understanding where we are now." The parties in the case deliver their summations today, and a ruling from the bench will be forthcoming in the future -- possibly as long as two months from now.
Daily Update for May 16, 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
The Steve Jobs email that has the DOJ's interest
TUAW has covered the US Department of Justice price-fixing case against Apple for the past several years. Now an email sent from former Apple CEO Steve Jobs to James Murdoch of News Corporation (parent company of HarperCollins publishers) is being interpreted by the DOJ as showing that Apple and HarperCollins conspired with other publishers to raise e-book prices. John Paczkowski at AllThingsD pointed out yesterday that the DOJ might be taking the email out of context. The seemingly incriminating portion of Jobs' email is this: "Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99." As Paczkowski points out, reading the entire email, it appears that Jobs was simply using those price points as "price caps in broader pricing tiers" and that he "openly concedes that the agency model he's proposing may well fail." Jobs wrote, "We simply don't think the e-book market can be successful with pricing higher than $12.99 or $14.99. Heck, Amazon is selling these books at $9.99, and who knows, maybe they are right and we will fail even at $12.99. But we're willing to try at the prices we proposed. We are not willing to try at higher prices, because we are pretty sure we'll all fail." Paczkowski notes that this is just "one piece of evidence in a much larger case," but that the DOJ appears to have "cherry-picked a quote for maximum effect." The full exhibit from which the Jobs email was taken is included below. Jobs-Murdoch-exchange var docstoc_docid="156857315";var docstoc_title="Jobs-Murdoch-exchange";var docstoc_urltitle="Jobs-Murdoch-exchange";
Daily Update for March 22, 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
Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson needn't testify in e-book case
Steve Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson has been dropped from the upcoming Apple e-books price-fixing case, according to Paid Content. Class-action lawyers had originally subpoenaed Isaacson to submit his notes from interviews with Jobs regarding the iBookstore. However, Isaacson refused to do so, noting a New York law that allows a journalist to shield their sources. But new court documents filed last week reveal both parties have agreed to drop Isaacson -- and his notes -- from the case. The lawsuit alleges Apple -- and Jobs in particular -- colluded with publishers to inflate e-book prices. In September of last year Apple agreed to stop e-book price fixing in Europe. The e-book price fixing case in the US commences June 3.
Apple is last holdout in DOJ e-book case
It must feel pretty lonely in the Apple legal department today. Media and wire service reports say that Apple is the only company that has not made an out-of-court settlement with the US Department of Justice in a price-fixing investigation over the price of e-books. Macmillan has just settled with government investigators, so now book retailers, including Amazon, will be able to discount books from all the major publishers. Penguin, Hachette, Simon and Schuster and HarperCollins have already settled. The publishers, and Apple, were accused of collusion in e-book pricing. The government charged that consumers were left with books that were more expensive than if there was competition. Apple has denied all the charges, and it isn't known whether Apple will settle or fight the case in federal court. The charges were brought last April.
EU regulators to accept Apple and book publishers' offer of cheaper e-books
According to Reuters, EU regulators look likely to accept an offer from Apple and a handful of publishers, including Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Livre and Macmillan. The assembled publishers propose that they will allow retailers (including Amazon) to sell e-books cheaper than Apple currently does. The move will attempt to end the EU's anti-trust investigation that looked into the publishers' e-book pricing model that unfairly affected retailers' ability to compete with Apple's own electronic book collection.
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.
States reach $69 million settlement with three publishers in e-book price fixing case
When the US Department of Justice sued Apple and five major book publishers over alleged e-book price rigging, it immediately became clear that a few of these companies would do just about anything to avoid trial. That same day, three of the publishers -- HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette -- elected to settle with the DoJ. Now, those same three publishers have reached an agreement in 49 states (all but Minnesota), wherein consumers will receive a combined $69 million in compensation. Specifically, the payout applies to people who bought agency-priced e-books between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012. Interestingly, the payout includes folks who bought e-books from Macmillan and Penguin, even though those two publishers aren't settling. As for making sure people get paid, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google, Sony, Apple and Kobo have agreed to identify and contact affected customers. According to ABC News, most of these retailers will give customers the option of receiving a check or a credit toward future purchases. Sony, meanwhile, will automatically issue checks, while Google will direct customers to an online submission form where they can file a claim. Whatever the method, payments are expected to begin 30 days after the settlement is approved. The DoJ settlement, which is separate from the agreement with the 49 states, is still awaiting clearance.
Judge: Walter Isaacson doesn't have to hand over biography notes
It's beginning to look like we'll need to change our name to "The Unofficial Apple Legal Weblog," since we have a story of one more case involving Apple. This story is in reference to a class action suit regarding alleged price fixing on ebooks by Apple. Lawyers for the plaintiffs have requested access to Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson's private notes from his interviews with Jobs, but the judge in the case has ruled that Isaacson doesn't need to comply. Isaacson invoked reporter's privilege and refused to hand over source material and a list of documents and recordings involving his time with Jobs. U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote agreed on July 20 that Isaacson didn't need to comply with the request, but gave the class-action lawyers an out -- they can try again to force Isaacson to comply provided that they pass a legal test that sometimes allows disclosure of journalists' non-confidential material. One lawyer for the plaintiff, Steven Berman, argues that the reporter's privilege is moot, since Jobs never asked Isaacson for confidentiality. Berman also says that he has another source for Jobs' comments about ebooks. The Department of Justice is trying hard to knock down the time-honored reporter's privilege in a case where they're attempting to get a Wall Street Journal reporter to testify in a case against a former CIA officer. Fortunately, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals is friendly towards a free press, commenting in another case that "wholesale exposure of press files ... would burden the press with heavy costs of subpoena compliance, and could otherwise impair its ability to perform its duties ... [it] would risk "the symbolic harm of making journalists appear to be an investigative arm of the judicial system, the government, or private parties." [via paidContent]
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.
Senator Schumer calls on DOJ to drop e-book price-fixing suit
Believe it or not, but that whole e-book price fixing fiasco is still an ongoing issue for the Justice Department. New York's senior senator, Chuck Schumer wishes it wasn't however, he simply wants the DOJ to drop the case and walk away. In a lengthy (factually questionable) op-ed in the Wall Street Journal the distinguished gentleman from the great state of New York said that a successful suit against Apple (he didn't bother to call out the others involved) would set the e-book industry back several years and allow Amazon to dominate the market unchallenged. He also makes a broader call for the administration to develop more clear guidelines for deciding what non-merger cases to pursue. Unfortunately, we have to point out, that his argument is undercut by some questionable data referenced in the editorial. According to Schumer Amazon once owned 90 percent of the e-book market -- a number that, if true, most certainly predates the release of the Nook. This is followed by an insinuation that Apple all but single-handedly toppled the retail giant with the launch of iBooks, cutting Amazons market share to just 60 percent. While the latter number sounds about right we'd hesitate to lay responsibility for that 30 point drop entirely at Apple's feet. To dig into Schumers op-ed yourself hit up the source link.
AUO, LG, Toshiba pay $571 million to settle LCD price fixing lawsuit, broken record keeps skipping
The way LCD price fixing lawsuits keep popping up and settling in short order, you'd think they were going out of style. The latest motley group to face a reckoning includes AU Optronics, LG and Toshiba, the combination of which has agreed to pay a total of $571 million to eight separate American states to either avoid the legal wrath of a class action lawsuit or to pay an outstanding fine. Allegedly, the trio kept LCD prices artificially high between 1996 and 2006, hiking the prices of PCs and TVs in the process. There's a slight twist here: while keeping the display builders honest is the primary goal, the class action status will net some direct rewards for the public. Americans who claim to have been wronged in the scandal can get "at least" $25, which goes a lot further towards buying an LCD than it did six years ago.
