When you have the most popular digital music player on the planet, the largest digital music store, and billions of cash on hand, you tend to attract outsiders who want a piece of the action. Apple, meet Stacie Somers.
On December 31st, 2007, Stacie Somers filed a class action lawsuit against Apple for violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act among other things. You can view the entire 24 page filing here. So what nuggets of information can we find within?
Page 2 # 6: “Online Video make it superior to DVDs purchased from traditional retail outlets.”
If you think video hobbled with DRM, a lower picture quality than DVD, and no special features makes it “superior”, the I’ve got some great beach property in Kansas to sell you Stacie.
Page 4 # 13: “Apple has repeatedly acted to foreclose even the possibility ofcompetition by using its market power to force consumers to choose its products based not on their merits, but on the fact that technological restrictions and incompatibilities prevent them from buying its competitors’ products.”
So you’re saying that it’s not because the iPod looks amazing, easily works with the music management software (iTunes), or is so very easy to use? What you’re saying is that when you go to pay for your Zune the credit card machine breaks down because Apple remotely disabled the connection to the credit card processor? Makes perfect sense to me.
