No, not that one. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is still on the hook for conspiring with five publishers to control the costs of Ebooks with a final settlement to that case believed to be issued early next week when both Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and the Department of Justice return to the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Denise Cote. Cote ruled in July that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the maker of the iPod table computer, helped coordinate a conspiracy with five book publishers to limit retail price competition and raise e-book prices. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is expected to see some form of injunction against it next week, and a second trial will determine how much Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be forced to pay later this year.
According to Karen Gullo of Bloomberg News, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will now have to face another anti-trust case brought against it regarding its iTunes Store and the downloading of music.
Apple’s control may be annoying, but not deemed illegal
The case in question, Stacie Somers v. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), 11-16896, was dismissed by a lower court in the past months. Apple customers maintained that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) tried to block competition and charge more by preventing users from playing some iTunes music on non-Apple devices.
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the lesser courts dismissal of the suit by maintaining that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s downloaded song prices remained the same even after competitors entered the market.
In addition to the aforementioned e-book case and this most recent regarding music, last month a court dismissed a similar case against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) that suggested that the Cupertino company holds a monopoly over applications as well through the App Store.
Apple shooting itself in the foot
While it would seem that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been enjoying a great deal of success in these two suits, it fails to take in account other issues that were raised by each suit. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), while not guilty of anti-trust behavior by controlling what can find its way to its devices, is losing business to the Android operating system that is considerably more open to both music and applications on its devices.
Without jailbreaking your iOS device, you must use the App Store to find new apps for your phone. Something that Android does not do. If I were to burn a DVD I own into one of a number of video formats, I would struggle getting it on to my device. This is not the case with Android that can essentially be used as a hard drive.
While Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) may be winning court decisions, they are doing themselves no favors in the court of public opinion. For many, when the device is purchased it should no longer should be governed by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Apple, of course, strongly disagrees.
