Here Comes the Judge: Apple, Amazon Face the Music

Posted by | 07/31/2009 | 3 Comments

In the wake  of their controversial  app- and ebook-pulling activity, Apple and Amazon, respectively, are facing legal repercussions.

iphone-kindle-lawFirst up today was Amazon (via Ars Technica). In a lawsuit, plaintiffs are hitting them for not living up to their agreement granting customers  the ability  to “keep a permanent copy of the applicable Digital Content and to view, use, and display such Digital Content an unlimited number of times.”  One of the plaintiffs has extra reason to sue: Amazon pulled the rug out from under his homework. He still has the notes he made on his Kindle copy of “1984″ but without the underlying text, those notes are metadata without data, annotations on top of empty pages. In other words, pretty useless.

Later, it was revealed that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is investigating Apple’s ban on Google Voice apps (via The Wall Street Journal by way of Gizmodo).

In letters sent late Friday to the two companies and AT&T Inc., the FCC asked why Apple rejected the Google Voice application for the iPhone and removed related applications from its App Store. The letter also seeks information on how AT&T, the exclusive U.S. iPhone carrier, was consulted in the decision, if at all.

It’s part of  the larger  investigation into  the effects of exclusive deals, like AT&T’s deal on  the iPhone, on competition and on  the  smaller carriers. No telling what may come of either of these legal maneuvers, but it certainly sends a message that  shenanigans like these will not  fade without consequences.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Category: Mobile

About the Author (Author Profile)

My name is Mark Sumimoto; I am Sumocat. I dabble in all areas of mobile computing, but my focus is Windows-based Tablet PCs and pen input. They’ve been part of my arsenal since 2004, and I’m proud to have pioneered the field of ink blogging, earning a spot as a Microsoft MVP for Touch and Tablets in the process. My current tools include a Fujitsu Lifebook T900, TEGA v2, and iPhone 4. Email me: sumocat [at] notebooks.com
  • GoodThings2Life

    Ordinarily, I would say that FCC involvement in anything is a bad thing, but in this case, I think it’s really in the consumer’s interest and benefit to be involved.

  • Briggs

    I generally feel the same way about the FCC, but honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing some of the blatant anti-competitive behaviors of apple put under the same scrutiny that Microsoft enjoys.

  • blash

    Good. these companies need whats getting to them.

    And yes, finally the FCC is doing something noteworthy. +1 for the federal government!

«
»