Apple has responded to the Department of Justice’s revised proposal accusing Apple of molding its in-app purchase rules in order to spite Amazon, saying the DoJ is merely “seeking a remedy that would give Amazon a significant competitive advantage over Apple.”
Apple’s response, via MacRumors:
Plantiffs are seeking a remedy that would give Amazon a significant competitive advantage over Apple – an advantage it is neither entitled to nor deserves. This is plainly improper and highly counterproductive.
Now–after the trial is over and this court has ruled–is not the time to adjudicate a whole new array of legal and factual issues based on evidence that is outside the record and which largely post-dates the events at issue.
The DoJ’s revised punishment for the Cupertino firm’s having been found guilty of collusion suggested that Apple initiated its in-app purchasing rules simply to “retaliate against Amazon for competitive conduct that Apple disapproved of” and to “make it more difficult for consumers using Apple devices to compare ebook prices among different retailers.”
The DoJ want’s to force Apple to allow book retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble to place links to their respective bookstores within their iOS apps. Apple is opposed to that idea, as it would cut them out of their 30% commission they receive on all in-app purchases from iOS apps.
The Justice Department also argued that Apple should be subject to third-party monitoring in order to prevent any future collusion, and should be required to stagger any future negotiations with book publishers. Apple has agreed to the last stipulation, but is fighting both the monitoring and the allowing of links to the e-book retailers sites from within their apps.
The DoJ and Apple will be meeting with Judge Denis Cote on Tuesday to further discuss the proposal. In addition to any proposed punishment, Apple could be required to pay up to $500 million in damages.
