Apple Banned from Fixing E-Book Prices

Apple

AppleAfter a court ruling stating that Apple led a conspiracy to raise e-book prices above those charged by Amazon, the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed a broad range of punishments that would have impacted Apple’s contracts with book publishers and the company’s ability to control how competitors sell content on its platforms. If the DOJ had its way, Apple would have faced restrictions related to music, movies, and TV shows, not just e-books. But in District Court Judge Denise Cote’s final judgment released yesterday (PDF), the DOJ didn’t get everything it wanted. The injunction, set to take effect one month from now and expire five years later, prohibits Apple from enforcing retail price most-favored-nation (MFN) clauses in agreements with e-book publishers and from entering into any agreement with e-book publishers that contains a retail price MFN clause.

Read the full story at Ars Technica.

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