In the wake of US District Judge Denise Cote's ruling that Apple colluded with book publishers to raise the price of e-books, the DOJ yesterday issued a proposal aimed at remedying the alleged damage caused by Apple.
To say that the DOJ proposal is harsh and curiously overbroad would be an understatement. The proposal calls for Apple to put an immediate end to its existing agency-model contracts with book publishers. It also would preclude Apple from "entering into agreements with suppliers of e-books, music, movies, television shows or other content that are likely to increase the prices at which Apple's competitor retailers may sell that content."
What's more, the proposal calls for Apple to allow e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes &
