Another story jumps straight off the pages of Atlas Shrugged: "DOJ to require Apple to link to Amazon"
THIS ARTICLE REPUBLISHED FROM APPLE INSIDER: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/08/0...
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DOJ settlement would require Apple to allow links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble e-book stores
By Neil Hughes
Amazon and Barnes & Noble are not currently allowed to link from their native iOS apps to outside e-book stores. But the U.S. Department of Justice has proposed a settlement that would require Apple to allow such links for a two-year period.
The terms of the proposed settlement in the Apple e-book price fixing case were published on Friday by the Justice Department. Though Amazon and Barnes & Noble were singled out, the policy could apply to other e-book sellers as well.
The DOJ said the change would allow consumers on the iPad and iPhone to "easily compare Apple's prices with those of its competitors." Currently, Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases made through App Store software, and does not allow developers to circumvent this rule by linking to a website for purchases.
Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others were required to update their apps two years ago, when Apple revised its policy to ban links to out-of-app purchases. Users can still access the content they have bought outside of an application, but buying new content requires manually opening a browser and navigating to the necessary website."Under the department’s proposed order, Apple's illegal conduct will cease and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future." - Bill Baer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division
According to the DOJ, the changes would "reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy." A U.S. District Court judge found Apple guilty of e-book price fixing last month, but the iPad maker has vowed to appeal the decision.
The proposed DOJ settlement would also require Apple to terminate its existing e-book agreements with the five major publishers it was found to have conspired with to fix prices. Those publishers are Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan, Penguin Group, and Simon & Schuster.
In addition, Apple would be prevented from entering new e-book distribution contracts with those publishers for five years, constraining the company from competing on price.
The DOJ settlement would also go beyond e-books, prohibiting Apple from entering agreements with suppliers of "music, movies, television shows or other content that are likely to increase the prices at which Apple's competitor retailers may sell that content."
"The court found that Apple's illegal conduct deprived consumers of the benefits of e-book price competition and forced them to pay substantially higher prices," said Bill Baer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
The proposal, made public Friday, is pending court approval.
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Seriously? Is this really happening?
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DOJ settlement would require Apple to allow links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble e-book stores
By Neil Hughes
Amazon and Barnes & Noble are not currently allowed to link from their native iOS apps to outside e-book stores. But the U.S. Department of Justice has proposed a settlement that would require Apple to allow such links for a two-year period.
The terms of the proposed settlement in the Apple e-book price fixing case were published on Friday by the Justice Department. Though Amazon and Barnes & Noble were singled out, the policy could apply to other e-book sellers as well.
The DOJ said the change would allow consumers on the iPad and iPhone to "easily compare Apple's prices with those of its competitors." Currently, Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases made through App Store software, and does not allow developers to circumvent this rule by linking to a website for purchases.
Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others were required to update their apps two years ago, when Apple revised its policy to ban links to out-of-app purchases. Users can still access the content they have bought outside of an application, but buying new content requires manually opening a browser and navigating to the necessary website."Under the department’s proposed order, Apple's illegal conduct will cease and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future." - Bill Baer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division
According to the DOJ, the changes would "reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy." A U.S. District Court judge found Apple guilty of e-book price fixing last month, but the iPad maker has vowed to appeal the decision.
The proposed DOJ settlement would also require Apple to terminate its existing e-book agreements with the five major publishers it was found to have conspired with to fix prices. Those publishers are Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan, Penguin Group, and Simon & Schuster.
In addition, Apple would be prevented from entering new e-book distribution contracts with those publishers for five years, constraining the company from competing on price.
The DOJ settlement would also go beyond e-books, prohibiting Apple from entering agreements with suppliers of "music, movies, television shows or other content that are likely to increase the prices at which Apple's competitor retailers may sell that content."
"The court found that Apple's illegal conduct deprived consumers of the benefits of e-book price competition and forced them to pay substantially higher prices," said Bill Baer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
The proposal, made public Friday, is pending court approval.
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Seriously? Is this really happening?
The Statute of Monopolies limited the power of GOVT to interfere with one's natural right to property and to contract. whereas US anti trust law, increases the power of govt-allowing it to interfere with one's natural right to property and to contract
Simple enough, right? Steve's game, Steve's rules. Don't like it? Go get an order from the largest armed mob on planet earth; their game, for all games :(
If they are monopolizing the market, then the consumers should be the ones to put a stop to it instead of government.
If the consumers are dumb enough to continue to use Apple products, knowing that they are paying higher prices then they deserve the price they are forced to pay.
Until I got my first Apple product.
It's a whole different world. And worth every extra penny. You don't know what you're missing.
"WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH"
I've actually got quite a few responses back. I think BBB strikes a chord with them.
When in Rome !
The "price fixing" they are referring to was Apple colluding with the publishers named in the suit to fix prices not just for e-books bought through Apple devices and apps but to fix them for e-books purchased via Barns & Noble & Amazon. That was the problem. Prior to Apple joining the e-book game, Amazon & B&N purchased their digital books from the publisher for an agreed upon, contracted, FULL price and then resold them at a loss, for less than they paid for them to consumers. The publishers were still getting paid the full price for their product by Amazon & other book sellers, but the book sellers were setting the retail price lower to encourage customers to purchase the Kindle/Nook reading devices, which they had every right to do. Apple didn't like that and feared being undercut if someone could get a particular e-book cheaper from Amazon or B&N, so they told the publishers that the only way those publishers could offer their books via Apple's e-book store was if they forced other book sellers to sell at the price Apple wanted to charge, once those book sellers renewed their contracts. The publishers agreed and basically refused to sell any digital content to other e-book sellers unless they (the publishers) got to set the retail price themselves. Not exactly "free market" thinking if you ask me. What it comes down to is that Apple didn't want to have to lower their prices to compete with Amazon or B&N. They didn’t give a crap about the free market. They wanted to control the market and they used the publishers to do the strong arming for them. Consumers were being screwed no matter what device or e-book platform they used and the only solution was to bring it before the courts. The fact that the DOJ has over reached with their punishment isn't surprising, but there was sadly, no other remedy for the situation for consumers.
SPD has it right - if you don't like Apple's prices, switch platforms. The high switching cost does not bestow upon the user the "right" to tell Apple how to price its products.
>>Amazon and Barnes & Noble are not currently allowed to link from their native iOS apps to outside e-book stores. But the U.S. Department of Justice has proposed a settlement that would require Apple to allow such links for a two-year period.<<