Legal

Macmillan reaches e-book pricing settlement with DOJ

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement with Macmillan in an antitrust case related to e-book pricing, leaving only Apple to battle the suit.

In an antitrust lawsuit filed last April, federal prosecutors accused Apple and five book publishers of conspiring to artificially hike prices. The same day, the Justice Department announced it had reached settlements with three publishers but said Apple and the other two publishers had opted to fight the charges. Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers, and Simon & Schuster (owned by CBS, which publishes CNET) agreed to settle. … Read more

Apple to 'evaluate' hedge fund's cash demand

After a complaint from a notable Apple investor that the company needs to share more of its cash pile with investors, the iPhone and Mac maker says it's "evaluating" its possibilities.

In a statement today, Apple said it's aware its cash has grown beyond what is needed to run day-to-day business -- hence its dividend and stock buyback plan -- but that it is still talking about other possibilities.

"Apple's management team and Board of Directors have been in active discussions about returning additional cash to shareholders," the company said this afternoon, just … Read more

Einhorn's hedge fund sues Apple: Show me the money

"Show me the money" might have been the most famous line from the old Tom Cruise movie "Jerry Maguire," but that's exactly what a big Apple shareholder wants.

Greenlight Capital, a hedge fund run by David Einhorn, today filed a lawsuit and issued a letter to Apple shareholders (PDF), urging them to support his push to get Apple to share more of its cash with investors.

"Apple is a phenomenal company ... but Apple has a problem," Einhorn said during an interview on CNBC. "It has sort of a mentality of a depression. … Read more

ITC decision on Apple v. Samsung spat to come in August

The International Trade Commission's final ruling on a spat between Apple and Samsung is due this August, following a review of an earlier decision.

The judge presiding over the patent case (which was filed by Apple against Samsung in July 2011) last night said he plans to issue a final decision on the case on August 1, following an updated initial determination that's subject to a review.

Last October, the ITC said that Samsung infringed on four of Apple's patents with a handful of its mobile devices. Late last month the U.S.-based group said that decision would be reviewed … Read more

Apple wins design patents for slide-to-unlock, original iPhone

Apple was granted design patents today for the contentious slide-to-unlock user interface asset and the design for the original iPhone.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved Apple application No. D675,639 for "ornamental design for a display screen or portion thereof with a graphical user interface," which includes illustrations of the familiar horizontal bars with rounded corners found at the bottom of locked iOS screens since the original iPhone's debut in 2007.

Slide-to-unlock functionality has become a major sticking point with handset makers. Apple, which was granted a patent for the feature in 2011, has … Read more

Apple's ownership of 'iPhone' name in Brazil in peril

Apple could soon lose its rights to use the iPhone name in Brazil as part of a decision expected from the local patent and trademark office next week.

Citing an unnamed source, both Reuters and Folha de S.Paulo today say the Brazilian Institute of Intellectual Property plans to award an exclusive iPhone name trademark to Brazil-based electronics company Gradiente.

Gradiente filed for the iPhone naming rights in the country years before Apple's device came to be. However the company didn't put out its own iPhone-branded product until last December when it began selling a line of touch-screen … Read more

Court rejects Apple request for fast-track appeal for Samsung ban

Apple's request to fast-track a sales ban on Samsung products has been rejected by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

As Reuters reports, the iPad and iPhone maker yesterday lost its bid to rush the appeals process. It must now wait for a three-judge panel review of the appeal before potentially reaching the full court.

Apple is appealing the U.S. District Court's rejection of a permanent injunction on certain Samsung products following Apple's victory last year in its high-profile patent battle that resulted in a $1.05 billion award to Apple in damages.

During Apple'… Read more

Apple wins California credit card privacy case

The California Supreme Court today ruled that Apple did not break state law by requiring customers to provide personal identification information such as mailing addresses and phone numbers to complete online credit card transactions.

The decision was a split one, as first reported by Reuters, with four of the seven justices finding in favor of Apple. A copy of the decision is embedded below.

The proposed class action suit was initially brought against Apple by plaintiff David Krescent in June 2011. Krescent alleged that Apple required his telephone number and address to purchase media downloads.

The majority of the justices … Read more

Apple to stop Mac Pro sales in much of Europe on March 1

Apple today told retailers and distributors in most European countries that it will stop selling the Mac Pro on March 1 because the desktop system doesn't meet electrical regulations.

The Mac Pro's ports and fans don't comply with a new amendment -- which goes into effect at the beginning of March -- addressing safety and electrical standards for electronics, according to Macworld.

An Apple spokesman confirmed the decision to CNET. The regulation affects the 27 countries of the European Union, which includes the U.K., Germany and France, and the four countries in the European Free Trade Association (… Read more