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Apple is fighting back against allegations that it has been involved in e-book price fixing to counter Amazon's dominance in that space.

In a court filing obtained by PaidContent yesterday, Apple argues that any claim that it views Amazon and the Kindle e-book store as a threat is nonsense.

Here's what Apple had to say in the court filing:

"Nor does this 'Kindle theory' make sense on its own terms. For example, if Amazon was a 'threat' that needed to be squelched by means of an illegal conspiracy, why would Apple offer Amazon's Kindle app on … Read more

As Microsoft's Mark Murray was wont to say on another occasion: It's a good day for Microsoft. Today also turned out to be a good day for Google, Apple, and, yes, even RIM.

Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Justice gave the green light to the sale of a trove of old patents once held by Nortel and Novell. The new patent holders are now free to create new and exciting technologies--or they can try to use their patents as legal clubs to batter rivals into submission. It's a free country.

This is all part of … Read more

Carrier IQ's woes continue to multiply.

The Mountain View, Calif., startup now faces four lawsuits over allegations that its cellphone software violates the privacy of mobile users. A congressman has also asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission today to investigate those charges.

The developments aren't terribly surprising given the media firestorm around Carrier IQ, which programmer Trevor Eckhart alleges records keystrokes from mobile phones and sends all sorts of personal information off the phone. Carrier IQ denies that and says limited data is gathered for diagnostic purposes only. (CNET has a FAQ with more detailed information about … Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice said today that it has uncovered a large, sophisticated Internet scam ring that netted $14 million by infecting millions of computers with malware designed to redirect their Web searches to sites that generated ad revenue.

Six people have been arrested in Estonia and a Russian is being sought on charges of wire fraud and computer intrusion, the FBI said. They are accused of infecting about 4 million computers in more than 100 countries--500,000 in the U.S. alone, including NASA--with malware called DNSChanger. The malware altered the Domain Name Server settings on the … Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice has expanded its investigation of WikiLeaks-related accounts to encompass Google and Internet provider Sonic.net.

Both companies received secret court orders directing them to turn over information from the e-mail account of Jacob Appelbaum, a hacker and human rights activist who has been affiliated with WikiLeaks, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

CNET has learned that the secret court order is what's called a 2703(d) order. It's not as privacy-protective as a traditional search warrant, and some courts have ruled that such orders are unconstitutional when used to read a suspect'… Read more

Just what personal information does your mobile carrier store about you, and for how long? A memo from the Department of Justice sheds some light on this question.

Obtained from the Department of Justice by the ACLU through the Freedom of Information Act, the memo entitled "Retention Periods of Major Cellular Service Providers" reveals the data retention policies of six major U.S. mobile carriers. Dated August 2010, the memo says it's directed for "Law Enforcement Use Only," so it was written specifically for police and legal authorities in cases where they need to obtain … Read more

Three Republican members of Congress aren't happy with the recent decision by the Department of Justice to block AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile.

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, Representatives Joe Barton (R-Tex.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) asked for briefings describing the specific concerns of both agencies and "how these concerns relate to the impact on jobs and economic growth."

T-Mobile USA may look to split itself into pieces for multiple buyers if its deal with AT&T falls through.

That's according to Mizuho Securities analyst Michael Nelson, who said in a research note issued today that companies such as MetroPCS, Leap Wireless, and U.S. Cellular have significant interest in picking up new markets. T-Mobile could also break itself up into multiple parts as part of a divestiture plan that AT&T would work out with regulators to get approval for the deal.

"Our analysis indicates MetroPCS, Leap, and U.S. Cellular could have significant … Read more

AT&T is prepared to offer the government some concessions in an effort to salvage its $39 billion deal to acquire T-Mobile, according to a story out today from Reuters.

The carrier has been trying to convince federal regulators and other skeptics that a merger with T-Mobile wouldn't be anti-competitive as some claim and would in fact provide benefits to consumers.

But federal agencies scrutinizing the deal are proving a hard sell, with the Federal Communications Commission dragging its heels on a decision and the Department of Justice on Wednesday filing an antitrust lawsuit aiming to block the merger.… Read more