Apple and the federal government met on Thursday for a final hearing before their trial, which is set to begin on June 3, and features several high profile witnesses. Read more »
Apple’s exposure in a closely-watched price-fixing case over ebooks looks more serious as the CEOs of major publishers — which have already settled with the government — will testify about Apple’s role in the case. Read more »
The European Commission has formally revealed the concessions Google is offering to make in order to settle an antitrust investigation over its search practices. Interested parties have a month to comment. Read more »
The details of a long-awaited deal between Google and the EU are finally out. The agreement requires Google to list three competitors in certain types of search listings, and to agree to other, wide-ranging conditions. Read more at GigaOM »
Amazon’s purchase of Goodreads, an influential and independent social network for book lovers, is drawing fire from the Authors Guild. Read more »
The case accusing Apple of fixing ebook prices is heating up. New court documents show that Steve Jobs’ biographer have been dropped from the case but that Jobs himself is still at the center of it. Read more »
Macmillan, the last remaining publisher holdout in the Department of Justice’s ebook pricing antitrust lawsuit against five publishers and Apple, has decided to settle about ten months after the lawsuit was originally filed. Now Apple is the only remaining party fighting the DOJ lawsuit. Read more »
After a two-year investigation into Google’s search business, the feds finally issued a decision. The outcome is a clear win for Google — here’s an easy Q&A about what happened and what it means. Read more at GigaOM »
The FTC finally concluded its two-year investigation into whether Google’s treatment of its competitors broke antitrust laws. The result is a minor change to the way Google uses patents but that does little to change the company’s search listings. Read more at GigaOM »
Who has the right to use platforms like Facebook and Twitter? On Thursday, a federal judge emphatically sided with Facebook against an adware company that wanted to use the site for its own ends. Read more at GigaOM »
The government uses anti-trust law to stop cartels and ensure products can be bought and sold freely. This makes sense for ordinary consumer goods like gas or long distance phone calls, but does it make sense for cultural items like books? Read more »
Did you buy an ebook in the last two years? Amazon is notifying customers of the potential for a refund and other retailers will soon follow suit. The process is part of a long, complicated class action proceeding. Read more »
Google has apparently offered to indicate when its search results point to its own properties, in its ongoing negotiations with EC antitrust investigators. But that offer likely doesn’t neutralise the original complaints. Read more »
A data company has filed a dramatic counterclaim against Craigslist, accusing the classified site of acting as an illegal monopolist. A court filing argues Craigslist engaged in illegal, predatory behavior through actions like “ghosting” and unfair licenses. Read more at GigaOM »
Europe approves Universal’s bid for EMI’s music catalogue by compelling the combined entity to off-load artists including Coldplay and Gorillaz, so that is not large enough to hike prices required from new digital music services. Read more »
A surprise ruling last week will force publishers to tear up their e-book contracts with retailers. The ruling is scheduled to go into effect in the next few days and, if it does, Amazon and others will be allowed to slash the price of e-books. A prominent lawyer has filed a Hail Mary brief to stop the process. Read more »
State governments, which are suing publishers and Apple for fixing e-book prices, have finally said just how much each consumer will get in a proposed $69 million settlement. We have all the details. Read more »
Along with Apple, publishers Penguin and Macmillan and the Authors Guild submitted filings criticizing the DOJ’s proposed ebook settlement on Wednesday. They argue that the DOJ has not provided analysis of Amazon’s ebook pricing and say the settlement goes too far. Read more »
Class action lawyers want Steve Jobs’ biographer to hand over his source material to help them prove that Apple and publishers fixed e-book prices. But a judge has agreed that the author can refuse under a law that protects journalists and their sources. Read more »
A long-running dance between the European Commission and Google over antitrust allegations is finally coming to an end amidst reports that the two sides have reached an “understanding.” Read more at GigaOM »
Thirty states have bagged $52 million from publishers as part of a price fixing investigation involving Apple. More money is on the way. While state leaders say the money is for overcharged consumers, legal and antirust experts say the arrangement is unusual. Read more »
Agitated by a ruling that it may have locked real-time data customers in to its services against competition law, Thomson Reuters makes concessions to let users use rivals – but they will have to pay. Read more »
New court filings related to an alleged conspiracy between Apple and publishers over e-book prices show the matter may not be resolved until 2014. The filings underscore how the legal system moves at a much slower pace than the fast-evolving e-book market. Read more »
Reports that Eric Schmidt has offered to settle an antitrust investigation by the European Commission are everywhere. But the reality is that the details of Google’s proposals — and the regulator’s response — remain shrouded in mystery. Read more »
Trust-busting and 50 Shades of Grey were hot topics at last night’s annual Authors Guild Dinner where famous writers read modern-day rejection letters to Homer, F Scott Fitzgerald and others. Read more »
The European Commission today announced it had found four possible “abuses of dominance” by Google, and suggested the search giant propose a package of “remedies” in coming weeks. Read more »
In a strongly worded opinion, US District Judge Denise Cote rejected requests by Apple and book publishers to throw out a class action suit that accuses them of price-fixing. Read more »
A former Justice lawyer and antitrust expert says Facebook’s purchase of photo-sharing site Instagram will take between 4 months and one year to clear regulatory hurdles. In the meantime, the deal is effectively on hold. Read more at GigaOM »
Publishers Hachette and Harper Collins slipped further away from the class action lawyer who wants them to pay over an alleged e-book price-fixing conspiracy. Read more »
Book publishers argue that Amazon is a vicious monopoly that has too much power over them and their content. But they need to realize they gave Amazon much of that power themselves when they agreed to shackle all of their books in DRM chains. Read more at GigaOM »
The lawsuits over price-fixing in the e-book market took a new twist today after a HarperCollins lawyer predicted that three publishers could reach a settlement with all 50 state governments in the next two months. Read more »
The Justice Department is pouncing on statements by Apple like “aikido move” and “trounce Amazon” to prove its case that Apple was the hub of a illegal conspiracy to fix the price of e-books. While the statements sounds serious, the government’s overall explanation of Apple’s role […] Read more »
Our primer to today’s DOJ lawsuit against five publishers and Apple — how we got here and what comes next. Read more »
Apple and book publishers already have their hands full after the Justice Department sued them in New York today for allegedly fixing the price of e-books. Now, state governments are seeking their own pound of flesh. Read more »
The Justice Department has at last filed an anti-trust complaint in New York against Apple and five publishers over an alleged price fixing conspiracy. Read more »
In a letter to the Senate, Washington-based lobbyist Consumer Federation of America claims “this year the cost to consumers of e-book price fixing will likely exceed $200 million and the abuse will grow dramatically.” How did the CFA calculate that number? Read more »
Anti-trust investigations are supposed to be tight-lipped affairs in which all sides lawyer up until the case settles or goes to trial. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work at least. But in the case of book publishers and Apple, people are tossing legal duties to the wind in the hopes that press leaks will shape a settlement. Read more »
The plaintiffs who are accusing Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and publishers of fixing e-book prices say they don’t have to show an actual meeting took… Read more »
Facebook engaged in an illegal conspiracy to monopolize the market for display ads says the maker of PageRage, a product that lets users per… Read more »
The Federal Trade Commission has reportedly asked Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to supply information as part of its investigation into whether Google… Read more »
