Legal

The Federal Trade Commission will open an investigation into whether Apple is illegally using its position in the mobile software market to harm competitors, according to several published reports.

On Friday afternoon, both Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal reported that the FTC had opened a formal probe.

At issue is Apple's recent tweaking of its App Store rules. In May, Apple made changes that prohibit certain developer tools from being used to create applications for the iPhone and iPad, and on Monday effectively blocked Google's AdMob and other non-independent mobile ad networks from accessing applications on … Read more

The U.S. International Trade Commission on Friday said it plans to investigate HTC's claim that Apple's iPhone infringes on its handset technology.

The trade panel will look into whether HTC's claim will justify its request that the ITC ban the import and sale of iPhones, iPads, and iPods.

HTC complained to the panel in May that Apple infringed on five of its patents related to its handset hardware and software.

HTC's suit is a counterclaim to Apple's lawsuit, which first alleged patent infringement by HTC. When Apple filed the suit in March, CEO Steve … Read more

News analysis Apple's tweaking of the rules for which kind of ad networks can operate on its iPhone has prompted scrutiny from antitrust authorities, according to reports.

The Financial Times on Thursday said that two sources close to the situation have "taken an interest" in Apple's actions on Monday. Which agency would be charged with looking into it, isn't yet clear: either the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice. But the FTC just spent months looking at the mobile-ad market from all angles for the recently closed Google/AdMob acquisition case, so … Read more

An iPad app called Pulse, a visual RSS reader for news headlines, shot to the top of the app world only to hit the bottom in less than 24 hours.

On Monday, the iPad app created by a pair of Stanford grad students got special mention by Apple CEO Steve Jobs during his Worldwide Developers Conference keynote speech. By Tuesday, the app had disappeared from the App Store. Why? Apparently one of the news content providers in the app objected.

On Tuesday afternoon, New York Times reporter Brad Stone wrote that the Times Company, which owns several newspapers, objected to … Read more

Between 2004 and 2009, nearly $42 billion worth of Sony PSP and Nintendo DS games were illegally downloaded from file-sharing sites, according to a new study by the Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association.

The group, which puts on the annual Tokyo Game Show, calculated the figure by seeing how often Japanese versions of the 20 best-selling games between 2004 and 2009 were pirated. It then multiplied that figure by the manufacturer's suggested retail price of each title. According to Andriasang, a gaming-news site that focuses on the Japanese market, the researchers also included a "ratio of sales" figure … Read more

Authorities have finally begun examining the computers, server, and other electronic gear seized from a Gizmodo editor as part of the investigation into a missing iPhone prototype.

Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney for San Mateo County, told CNET on Wednesday that a court there had appointed a "special master" to search the items seized from the home of Jason Chen in late April. The court has asked the special master to collect only information that pertains to Gizmodo's dealings with an iPhone prototype that the blog purchased for $5,000.

In March, an Apple employee lost … Read more

Two major publishing houses have been questioned about electronic book pricing by the Texas Attorney General's Office, according to two reports Wednesday.

Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins both told The Wall Street Journal that they had been contacted by the Texas AG's office, but did not elaborate on the subject of the inquiry. Earlier, book industry publication Publishers Marketplace reported that Apple was the target of the state's questioning.

Hachette and HarperCollins are two of the six major book publishers who publish digital books on Apple's iBooks platform.

Apple is relatively new to e-books, but it … Read more

First, it was all about the details of a purported "iPhone 4G." Then the saga of how Gizmodo got that device exploded into a criminal investigation and questions about journalists' rights and responsibilities.

In what seems to be the clearest evidence yet that Gawker Media editors didn't talk to an attorney before buying a lost or stolen prototype iPhone, new court documents reveal the gadget blog balking after Apple CEO Steve Jobs personally requested its return.

The affidavit, prepared by detective Matthew Broad in the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, says Jobs contacted Gizmodo editor Brian Lam on April 19, the same day the gadget blog published a story about the 4G iPhone.

Jobs requested via phone that the blog's editors return the device--but Lam refused to do so, unless … Read more