“The U.S. Justice Department is painting Apple as the ‘ringmaster’ of an ebook price-fixing conspiracy,” Chris Maxcer writes for MacNewsWorld. “The news came out in court filings made public earlier this week as the DOJ prepares to do battle with the only member of the so-called conspiracy unwilling to admit wrongdoing and take a public spanking.”
“Five influential and powerful publishing companies in the DOJ’s sights — Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster — have already settled the original charges,” Maxcer writes. “A reasonable assumption is that if the publishing houses all settled the charges, then Apple must be guilty, right?”
“Not so fast,” Maxcer writes. “An embattled publishing industry doesn’t have the power, money, or force of will to take on Justice Department. If you’re holding a rock and facing down a giant with one eye, not very many companies are willing to do anything more than turn tail, run, or hunker down and beg forgiveness.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Killing real competition for the appearance of competition is just plain stupid.
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