“In a memo filed with the Southern District of New York this afternoon, Apple argues that the Department of Justice’s proposed settlement with three book publishers forces Apple to tear up existing contracts. That is “fundamentally unfair, unlawful, and unprecedented,” Apple says: It’s not settling, so it’s entitled to a trial,” Laura Hazard Owen reports for paidContent.
“‘Apple is taking a bold stance by ignoring the Judge’s admonition to the parties not to oppose the settlement, other than submitting comments,’ attorney and RoyaltyShare CEO Bob Kohn, who is seeking permission to file an amicus brief in the case, tells me,” Owen reports. “[Kohn said], ‘Apple makes a good point that the proposed settlement terminates Apple’s agency contracts without a trial and that would be an unprecedented violation of Apple’s right to due process.'”
Owen reports, “In a footnote, Apple says that many of the public comments on the proposed settlement ‘expressed concerns about the possibility that the Government has unwittingly placed a thumb on the scales in favor of Amazon, the industry monopolist. Amazon was the driving force behind the Government’s investigation, and it told a story to the Government that has yet to be scrutinized. Amazon talked with the Government repeatedly throughout the investigation, even hosting a two-day meeting at its Seattle headquarters. In all, the Government met with at least fourteen Amazon employees—yet not once under oath. The Government required that Amazon turn over a mere 4,500 documents, a fraction of what was required of others.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The U.S. DOJ is plainly inept.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz,” “Dan K.,” and “Arline M.” for the heads up.]
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