BUSINESS
June 1, 2013 | By Chris O'Brien, Los Angeles Times
For a company that beat down prices of online music, Apple Inc. finds itself in the odd situation of defending itself against government claims that it conspired to fix prices for electronic books. Starting Monday, the Justice Department will lay out in a civil antitrust trial its accusations that Apple masterminded a cartel with publishers to raise prices in an e-book market in which the Cupertino, Calif., company remains a bit player compared with rival Amazon.com Inc. As opening statements begin, perhaps the biggest question hovering over the proceedings is this: Why is this case even going to trial?
BUSINESS
April 9, 2013 | By Jessica Guynn
SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Inc. is under fire from a coalition of companies including Microsoft Corp. which have called on European antitrust authorities to launch an investigation into the Internet giant's dominance on smartphones. The FairSearch group alleges Google is violating European antitrust laws by giving away its Android mobile operating system to device manufacturers on the condition that its applications such as Google Maps and YouTube be prominently displayed on devices. Android mobile software is installed on about 70% of new smartphones, making it the dominant mobile software platform around the world.
BUSINESS
March 25, 2013 | By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - A government attorney urged the Supreme Court to allow authorities to crack down on cash deals among prescription drug makers that delay the introduction of generic drugs and keep consumer prices high. The so-called pay-for-delay deals, which allow brand-name drug companies to keep cheaper generic drugs off the market for a time, violate antitrust laws, the Federal Trade Commission argued Monday. "It's unlawful to buy off the competition," said Malcolm Stewart, the deputy solicitor general who represented the FTC and the Justice Department.
BUSINESS
March 13, 2013 | By Andrea Chang
A federal judge has ruled that Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook must testify in the U.S. government's e-books antitrust case against the company. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan granted the Department of Justice's request to order Cook to testify for four hours in the lawsuit, according to Reuters . Apple had tried to block attempts to have Cook sit for a deposition, saying it would be "cumulative and duplicative" because the government had already deposed 11 other Apple executives, Reuters said.
BUSINESS
March 1, 2013 | DAVID LAZARUS
The cable company Cablevision says it's just looking out for consumers in its lawsuit against Viacom, owner of MTV and Nickelodeon, over bundled programming packages that drive monthly bills higher. And the company is correct -- to a point. Cablevision Systems Corp. alleges that Viacom Inc. is violating federal antitrust laws by requiring cable and satellite companies to carry less popular channels in return for paying a reasonable price for the good stuff. In other words, if a cable company wants Comedy Central at a fair price, it also has to take Teen Nick.
SPORTS
January 4, 2013 | By Helene Elliott and Lisa Dillman
Collective bargaining talks between the NHL and the players' association took a potentially bleak turn Thursday as the union began polling members for a second authorization to file a disclaimer of interest, which could lead to the union's dissolution and allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the league. The NHLPA, which allowed the deadline for its first disclaimer filing to expire Wednesday while it continued bargaining, also filed a memo in U.S. District Court in New York asking for a dismissal of the class-action suit the league filed Dec. 14. The NHL contended that the union's consideration of a disclaimer was a bargaining maneuver and that its lockout should be declared legal.