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:
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To reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy, Apple must also for two years allow other e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to provide links from their e-book apps to their e-bookstores, allowing consumers who purchase and read e-books on their iPads and iPhones easily to compare Apple’s prices with those of its competitors.
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In addition, the DOJ is suggesting that Apple should end its existing agreements with the five publishers it's accused of conspiring with and refrain from entering new e-book distribution contracts for five years.
[via
TechCrunch]
[related:
Apple eBook price fixing case going to court]