08-02-2013, 12:03 PM | #1 | |
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DOJ: Let's force Apple to allow in-app links to bookstores
Remember back in 2011 when Apple bought the hammer down on iOS e-reader apps? Companies, including Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and Kobo, were no longer allowed to link to their respective online bookstore, but rather exclusively use Apple's in-app subscription system (which, conveniently, promised the latter a 30% cut on generated sales). Well, perhaps Apple will have to revise its business plan in the upcoming days.
If it's up to the DOJ, e-book app vendors should be allowed to link to their stores again for the next two years: Quote:
[via TechCrunch] [related: Apple eBook price fixing case going to court] |
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08-02-2013, 12:18 PM | #2 |
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Why only 2 years? That decision to force apps to remove links to their stores is anticompetitive, it should not be allowed plain and simple.
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08-02-2013, 12:35 PM | #3 |
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If they have to end the current agreements and not create new ones for 5 years, they aren't really going to have a bookstore left at that point.
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08-02-2013, 12:38 PM | #4 |
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08-02-2013, 01:33 PM | #5 |
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08-02-2013, 01:56 PM | #6 |
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Yes, Amazon could have kept the store link if they stopped updating their app (which they did not in fact update for some months if I remember correctly). But that can't go on forever.
So...can we get iFlow Reader back now? |
08-02-2013, 02:17 PM | #7 |
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08-02-2013, 02:19 PM | #8 |
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Apple are providing a service. It's their store; they can set whatever rules they want.
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08-02-2013, 02:40 PM | #9 |
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08-02-2013, 02:41 PM | #10 | |
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Quote:
Yes, they can do as they please on their app store, which does not imply what they do is right. |
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08-02-2013, 02:49 PM | #11 |
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08-02-2013, 03:52 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
This is roughly equivalent to a neighbor saying "you can park in the extra space in my driveway if you pay me your entire net intake for that day." Legal: Yes; Reasonable: No. However, since Apple has been found guilty of anti-competitive crimes, the judge has the right to consider *all* of their business activities, not just the ones directly under scrutiny. They're being required to support some of the competition they attempted to squash. |
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08-02-2013, 05:38 PM | #13 | |
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Apple wants the feds to blow them a kiss and let them keep on pulling more of the same shennannigans:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-575...-books-battle/ Quote:
No fines, no restitution, and they get to keep all the market share they garnered by breaking the law. Because, Apple is so trustworthy that their promise not to collude a third time can be believed. I hope they keep this up. The judge is bound to be thrilled by the posturing and PR smoke-n-mirrors. |
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08-02-2013, 07:41 PM | #14 |
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Frankly, if I was Apple, I'd say, "OK, we won't have any special agreements or maintain existing deals with publishers, in fact ebooks are such a small part of our business that we'll drop 'em altogether and not have any 3rd party ebook apps either... just to ensure we aren't accused of unfair action again... anyone who wants to read can use third party (non-publisher/retailer) apps to read books they source elsewhere..." That should please retailers, make all the publishers really happy and keep the DoJ out of the way... all in all, a real benefit to consumers everywhere...
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08-02-2013, 07:47 PM | #15 | |
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Quote:
To do that, Apple would have to allow sideloading of apps and end the itunes appstore exclusivity. The feds would approve it in a heartbeat. |
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