“An antitrust lawsuit filed against Apple on Dec. 31 charges the company with maintaining an illegal monopoly on the digital music market,” Thomas Claburn reports for InformationWeek.
“Plaintiff Stacie Somers, represented by attorneys Craig Briskin and Steven Skalet of Mehri & Skalet PLLC, Alreen Haeggquist of Haeggquist Law Group, and Helen Zeldes, alleges that Apple dominates the market for online video, online music, and digital music players and that its dominance constitutes a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The attorneys are seeking to have their lawsuit certified as a class action,” Claburn reports.
“The complaint against Apple claims that the company controls 75% of the online video market, 83% of the online music market, more than 90% of the hard-drive based music player market, and 70% of the Flash-based music player market,” Claburn reports.
“The complaint takes issue with Apple’s refusal to support [Microsoft’s] Windows Media Audio format.’Apple’s iPod is alone among mass-market Digital Music Players in not supporting the WMA format,’ it states, noting that America Online, Wal-Mart, Napster, MusicMatch, Best Buy, Yahoo Music, FYE Download Zone, and Virgin Digital all support WMA files,” Claburn reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A monopoly, which this isn’t anyway, is legal. It’s monopoly abuse that’s illegal. Where’s the abuse? iPods also play MP3, WAV, AIFF, among other formats. Where’s the exclusion? What is Apple supposed to do, support every also-ran, failed format in the world?
@ Military Police
lolz. I’d love to be that bad of an artist and have my own chain of stores in the mall.
There is no Lock between iTunes Music Store and the iPod.
You can own an iPod and never buy a track from iTMS.
You can simply transfer MP3 files ripped from CDs or bought from other places.
You can also buy tracks on iTMS and never put them on an iPod.
Listen to the music on your computer, laptop, apple TV, or some mobile phones.
You can also burn your songs to a CD and listen on nearly every CD player ever sold.
Why does the media always get that point wrong?
@Steven Bullmer
You have my attention. And, I looked into the quotes 3 & 4 from
http://www.news.com/Microsoft-offers-helping-hand-to-Firefox/2100-1032_3-6109455.html
“”I know for a fact that the Live team themselves spend a lot of cycles on the non-IE browsers. I don’t think there is a conspiracy theory saying we are not going to support other browsers,” Arrigo said.
The Firefox team has shot down one conspiracy theory. Last Saturday, Ramji wrote that he had posted his invitation online “in case their (Mozilla’s) spam filters are set to block @microsoft.com e-mail addresses.”
“Heh,” Beltzner replied. “No such blocking exists, I assure you.”
So – they are working together.
And I am just going to leave this with this comment,
“MONEY TALKS LIKE A PERSUASIVE TRANSLATOR” – RON
Hey MPC Guy–have you, or anyone else, used a dictionary to impart some understanding of the word “monopoly”?
I’ll be brief, but each listed definition I found from Collaborative Dictionary of English include the terms “exclusive power” “exclusive possession” “exclusive right or privilege of dealing in some article” “sole command of traffic in anything”.
I doubt anyone believes that Apple has EXCLUSIVE power or rights to online media distribution. The cited percentages (75% of music sales, etc) clearly show that there is no EXCLUSIVITY–there was no statistic with 100% of anything.
Also, you complain that Apple has such a strong presence as THE online merchant of music and video. Since when was a strong bargaining position been illegal? Aren’t we a capitalistic country?
One more thing, if Apple’s strong bargaining position or their so called “limitations” on music vendors are too authoritarian or oppressive, then the music execs should be wise enough to NOT SELL THEIR MUSIC ON iTunes?! I mean, they are CEOs of large, publicly traded businesses–they should have SOME marketing/business acumen!
Here’s an idea, if someone invents the wheel, make your own wheel or make a superior one. Copy the innovators, save money on R&D;, and then charge whatever you want to without limitations!
Don’t gripe over another’s success–make your own success and end the tyrannical “monopoly” that you and others have falsely accused.
You can read into this situation in multiple ways.
1. Maybe Apple does start doing WMV, selling it even. PlaysForSure stores are even more fucked, those who bought devices that work with it are happy or just buy iPods. Apple makes a killing and kills of pretty much all other stores, including the Zune Marketplace. Of course Microsoft would probably make more money on those tracks than Apple, knowing them. Perhaps this is just Microsoft sore that it’s not getting a bigger piece of the profits of digital music. They do strive to be a utility company after all, taking tolls of all things digital and forcing all traffic to go through them and their controls.
2. Apple does competing companies across America do. Do you think Pepsi sells Coca-Cola products? Does McDonald’s sell Whoppers or $6 Burgers? Of course they don’t! That would take away from their own business. It’s simple economics. Besides, why entrench in people’s heads that Microsoft has anything to offer and perhaps is the best and only solution? There’s enough people who think that already. I say case dismissed. Hope the judge is that smart.
>Sixvodkas wrote: MPC Guy is obviously “limited” in his knowledge of things technical.
Good lord! Must everyone who cannot hold a reasonable conversation post? If you can’t formulate an intelligent response, then don’t post. I didn’t call you anything remotely offensive – I still haven’t.
From my one post that raises a valid point, you chose to attack me personally and not the logic behind my post.
And then you compare me to your 11 year old nephew… Grow up man! You just made a fool of yourself!
BDecker:
“Just how stupid can these lawyers be?”
Stupid? Seem that this is an excellent opportunity to earn a paycheck despite the frivolous nature of the case. Lawyers know that even if the client loses they still get paid.
hum… let me get this straight… The allegation is that Apple is engaging in illegal behavior because they will not use a codec that is NOT released for Apple products. I cannot play music from Walmart, Napster or those also-rans on my Mac because MS wont open the DRM to apple products, and this is Illegal activity by Apple? This is strange. The only way Apple could comply would be to illegally “crack” the lame MS DRM. Hum…
I don’t understand how this is a monopolistic practice by Apple.
….i agree….
I am going to sue Apple because their computers won’t run the real neato Windows virus I wrote. It is a crime that OSX wont let me invade it. It’s anti-Capitalist… how am I going to get rich unless Macs run my Windows stuff?
If and when this law suit is dismissed,
The plaintiffs should reflect on the gifts of opportunity they have in being educated and living in the US. These plaintiffs can’t be morons and for that reason they should take responsibility for their life efforts. Maybe, they lack imagination. Hopefully, someone in their lives can guide them to focus their talents in areas that will benefit their communities rather than squandering their educations and citizenship on meritless lawsuits. The disgraceful waste of talent and opportunity pursuing a “meritless lawsuit” against one of the better companies in America today may ultimately be viewed as a harbinger of our failure in the evolving world economy. You don’t eat your own. Greed is not good. Good is good.
If it had been Microsoft facing this accusation under exactly the same circumstances, MDN would have been cheering them on and would have found a host of reasons why a lawsuit was legitimate.
Let’s not pull any punches. These are some of the stupidest m###########s on the planet. And as Apple supporters are already aware, some of the stupidest people in technology have a hair up their butt about Apple and expend a lot of energy lying about Apple and it’s products. And even after all the immense stupidity we have to put up with everyday, we apparently have not seen the end of the range of human stupidity.
It’s not the complainants are ignorant about technology. They are ignorant of the law, of business practice and a whole range of subjects tangentially connected to to his story. I pity anyone that stupid.
It’s official ………….. the legal system in the US of A has formally gone “batshit crazy”.
First thoughts, Hmmm. People are thinking that Apple has a monopoly on a market that was based upon open-type standards and basing their claim on a true monopolistic company who has a true proprietary format that will never conform to the rest of any standard.
If this case were to go anywhere it will set a precedent to reopen the Mac vs. Windows copyright case again. It’s plain common sense, but when it comes to legal issues, much like Retail company operations, common sense is never a factor. Nobody cares to think about what is right, but only “the bottom line”; aka looking out for number one, frack anyone else who thinks different.
Hmmm. “Apple has engaged in tying and monopolizing behavior, placing unneeded and unjustifiable technological restrictions on its most popular products in an effort to restrict consumer choice, and to restrain what little remains of its competition.” Wait a second, that sounds EXACTLY like Microsoft; for the Operating System, not this dick-less assumption of the browser tie-in.
This is not original thinking. Just another way to screw someone from the high-horse.
@ Steve516, I agree wholeheartedly. I myself am one maybe two paychecks away from being homeless. I would get angry, but I went through bankruptcy because of anxiety attacks stemming from stress. Good riddance, CompuSUCK!
@ Zune Tang, “How anyone could let just one company rule the distribution and playback of media with their cold iron claws is beyond me”. Uhh, it’s called Microsquish has already proven that they do this daily and have gotten away with it legally. & “got out”? who’s the real Kool-aid drinker here? Oh wait, whom am I talking about here.
@ DH, I have been saying that there should be a Mac version of Access and ALL Office products since OS 8!!
@ Chadwick, “Here’s an idea, if someone invents the wheel, make your own wheel or make a superior one. Copy the innovators, save money on R&D;, and then charge whatever you want to without limitations!”–how did you get Microsquish’s business model?
– – – –
MasterMacNikon
Is it just me, or is suing based upon the Sherman Antitrust Act, something the DOJ is supposed to do, not some class-action lawsuit from Stacie?
TOTAL ABSOLUTE NON-SENSE!!!!!!!
But America is the country more involved in debt in the world and lives with the money of the others.
China is buying american banks.
MasterMacNikon
what human garbage!
quote: ” I myself am one maybe two paychecks away from being homeless. I would get angry, but I went through bankruptcy because of anxiety attacks stemming from stress. Good riddance, CompuSUCK!”
pathetic, hope to see you sleeping in the streets, could not be a more deserving person
This is an odd suit. Whether they win or lose, they’re supporting a monopoly somewhere. The real difference is iTunes, not the iPods, the formats or the copy-protection. iTunes is the real winner; a free, dual-platform, intuitive, and simple jukebox, music store, iPod, radio, audiobook, and CD/DVD burning software. The absolute fact that NOBODY ELSE has the slightest semblance of this is the weakness that Apple has exploited. It’s success was WELL EARNED. iTunes has been so well dispersed and loved by people of all ages, most people forget that Windows even has a Media Player, much less do they care about being compatible. I enjoy iTunes because it excels at all of its features in stride. EVERYTHING ELSE IS A COMPROMISE. What this lady is really wanting is for Apple to re-program its amazing software to accomodate any player on the market, with any codec. That’s never going to happen. Apple would be forfeiting their entire success.
>Chadwick wrote: Hey MPC Guy–have you, or anyone else, used a dictionary to impart some understanding of the word “monopoly”?
I’ve played the game Monopoly, so I’m automatically smarter than you on matters regarding monopoly.
I’ll admit, I didn’t read your post as you started out with “I’ll be brief” but posted a long post that didn’t seem to make much sense. I could tell when you started out with sarcasm.
Posts like that are dead giveaways the poster doesn’t have anything interesting to offer.
Try again. First post was a failure.
This is an attempt to tie up Apple’s lawyers to distract them from defending against anything really threatening. I suspect a Microsoft connection to this.
There is so much wrong with this drivel, but let us clear up one issue too many posters here are getting muddled. AAC is not DRM. It is a codec and an open one. Even Zune can decode AAC. MS did not have to get agreement from Apple to do so. Apple does not own it. Microsoft’s codec is part of their WMA architecture, which also includes Microsoft’s DRM. But the MS codec part is not openly available, as is Apple’s codec.
Our broken legal system is incapable of stopping such absurd lawsuits in their tracks. In a sane world, the judge would start disbarment proceedings on the basis of mental incompetence when presented with such breathtaking nonsense by these shysters.
I can’t believe the extent Steve Balmer will go to to promote Zune. Imagine what he paid his sister-in-law to launch this suit.
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“Our broken legal system is incapable of stopping such absurd lawsuits in their tracks.”
Spot on.
WMA is shit anyway.