antitrust

Apple offers up e-book discount to avoid antitrust fines, report says

Apple has come up with a deal that may get the company out of an European antitrust investigation and avoid possible fines by letting its competitors sell e-books at a discount, Reuters reported today.

The agreement, proposed by Apple and four major publishers, would let e-book retailers like Amazon sell books at a lower price for two years, an unnamed source told Reuters.

In fear of Apple squashing competition in Europe, the European Union's commission overseeing antitrust violations began investigating Apple's e-book prices in December.

The four publishers -- Simon & Schuster (which is owned by CBS, the … Read more

Ex-FTC chief: Google could beat an 'unfair competition' suit

ASPEN, Colo.--The former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission predicts that an unfair competition lawsuit against Google would be an uphill battle for his former agency.

But William Kovacic, who left the commission last fall and is now a law professor at George Washington University, said here yesterday that his former agency might well try it anyway.

"If I were Mount Google or Mount Apple, I'd be really worried about being scaled today," Kovacic said during a panel discussion on antitrust at a Technology Policy Institute conference. Government attorneys get "extra credit for big cases,&… Read more

Steve Jobs biographer fights subpoena in e-books case

A federal district judge has ruled that Steve Jobs biographer doesn't have to comply with a subpoena served on by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its antitrust suit against Apple and some of the country's largest book publishers.

Publishers Weekly, a trade publication, reported last week that the DOJ in May served a subpoena on Walter Isaacson, a former editor of Time Magazine and the author of the best-selling biography on the late Apple co-founder. The book, which was published by Simon & Schuster (owned by CBS, parent company of CNET), is a vital … Read more

Google-EU deal getting close?

As their negotiations continue, a deal between the European Commission and Google may be near.

Google faces the prospect of large fines imposed by regulators, not to mention a prolonged legal proceeding. But reports circulated today to the effect that discussions about a potential settlement may bring to a close the Commission's year-and-a-half investigation of the company's business practices.

A representative said Google had no comment on potential violations of EU competition and consumer-protection laws. "We continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission," the spokesman said. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and six state … Read more

Amazon's the villain, not Apple, book sellers say

Not surprisingly, bookstore owners and authors make up a large number of the people who filed comments with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the government's antitrust case against Apple and e-book publishers.

The DOJ posted copies of the more than 800 comments on its Web site today. In April, the agency announced that it had filed an antitrust suit against Apple and five of the nation's largest book publishers. The government accuses Apple and of conspiring to raise prices and forcing Amazon and other retailers to follow suit.

The government reached a settlement with three of … Read more

Google pushed to change mobile services in EU antitrust probe

Just as Google was working to settle the antitrust investigation launched by the European Union, the governing body has tacked on one more demand: change your mobile services too.

According to the Financial Times, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia saved this final stipulation until settlement talks were already well into process. It's unclear what exactly Google needs to change but if the search giant doesn't concede it could lead to the settlement talks falling apart.

The EU's antitrust probe was opened in 2010 when European regulators asked the company to explain how it ranked search results and … Read more

Senator says Apple e-book suit has 'empowered monopolists'

New York Sen. Charles Schumer reprimanded the Department of Justice today for filing its e-book antitrust lawsuit against Apple. Using strong language in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, he wrote that "the suit could wipe out the publishing industry as we know it."

The Department of Justice brought the lawsuit against Apple in April alleging that the tech giant and a group of book publishers colluded to illegally fix e-book prices to boost profits and force e-book rival Amazon to abandon its discount pricing.

The suit also alleges that Apple and the publishers pushed an "agency model&… Read more

Judge dismisses Novell's antitrust suit against Microsoft

Finally. After years of to-ing and fro-ing from the courtroom, a U.S. judge has ended a lawsuit that reaches back as far as the launch of Windows 95.

Following an eight-week trial ending in December with a hung jury, Novell was pressing for close to $1 billion in damages for antitrust violations committed by Microsoft while Microsoft founder Bill Gates was still at the helm.

But today,  U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz ruled that Novell can no longer pursue the case against Microsoft.

In the ruling, Motz wrote:

"Although Novell presented evidence from which a jury … Read more

Google revises settlement offer in EU antitrust case

Google has updated its list of concessions as part of efforts to settle an ongoing EU antitrust probe into its business practices, a newspaper report said.

The search behemoth was put under the European antitrust spotlight in 2010 after rivals launched allegations of anti-competitive behavior.

A report by the Financial Times of London says EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia recently spoke to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt to seek clarification on a number of points made in the search giant's initial settlement offer, first submitted just over two weeks ago.

The initial letter sent by Schmidt to Almunia addressed … Read more