The Department of Justice, along with 33 U.S. states and territories, have proposed "remedies" which are tough restrictions that should mean Apple can never illegally conspire to raise prices ever again.
Reads the full statement from the DOJ:
The department's proposal, if approved by the court, will require Apple to terminate its existing agreements with the five major publishers with which it conspired – Hachette Book Group (USA), HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C., Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, Penguin Group (USA) Inc. and Simon & Schuster Inc. – and to refrain for five years from entering new e-book distribution contracts which would restrain Apple from competing on price. Under the department's proposed remedy, Apple will be prohibited from again serving as a conduit of information among the conspiring publishers or from retaliating against publishers for refusing to sell e-books on agency terms. Apple will also be prohibited from entering into agreements with suppliers of e-books, music, movies, television shows or other content that are likely to increase the prices at which Apple's competitor retailers may sell that content. To reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy, Apple must also for two years allow other e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to provide links from their e-book apps to their e-bookstores, allowing consumers who purchase and read e-books on their iPads and iPhones easily to compare Apple's prices with those of its competitors.
Additionally, the Department of Justice is asking the court to appoint an external monitor to ensure that Apple's internal antitrust compliance policies are sufficient to catch anticompetitive activities before they result in harm to consumers. The monitor, whose salary and expenses will be paid by Apple, will work with an internal antitrust compliance officer who will be hired by and report exclusively to the outside directors comprising Apple's audit committee. The antitrust compliance officer will be responsible for training Apple's senior executives and other employees about the antitrust laws and ensuring that Apple abides by the relief ordered by the court.
Apple was quick to fight back against the measure, calling the proposal a "draconian and punitive intrusion" into its ebook business that would hurt competition and consumers. "The resulting cost of this relief - not only in dollars but also lost opportunities for American businesses and consumers - would be vast," Apple added.
The court will look into the measures on August 9th, and a damages trial is likely to follow.
Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 3 Aug 2013 9:43
