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????這種做法自然會遭到英國和美國反托拉斯部門的質疑。 ????據(jù)報道，三家出版商已經(jīng)接受由司法部提出的和解方案。據(jù)《華爾街日報》（the Wall Street Journal）報道，該方案將會進行如下兩件事： ????? 解除出版商與蘋果公司簽訂的合同； ????? 終止所謂的最惠國待遇條款，并在雙方簽署新協(xié)議之前設定“冷靜期”。 ????據(jù)《華爾街日報》報道，政府提出這個等待期能讓出版商和書商重新建立起一對一的關系，“完全排除串通的嫌疑”。 ????據(jù)報道，冷靜期持續(xù)多久對蘋果公司來說是一個關鍵，原因很簡單。 ????如果冷靜期持續(xù)太久，亞馬遜將繼續(xù)以9.99美元銷售暢銷電子書，而蘋果公司仍然要在出版商定價之上附加30%的額外費用，這可能會嚴重影響蘋果的電子書業(yè)務。 ????更糟糕的是，這可能會導致所有的書從iBookstore下架。 ????蘋果公司的律師認為，他們可以提出充分理由說明，代理模式實際上增加了市場競爭，讓競爭對手從亞馬遜高達90%的市場份額中奪回了一些地盤。 ????與此同時，與大多數(shù)出版商不同，蘋果公司財力雄厚，足以支撐它與美國政府展開訴訟戰(zhàn)，直至達成更符合自己意愿的和解方案。 ????最新消息：正如預期，法庭于周三開始審理。請參考閱讀《為何市場對蘋果反托拉斯訴訟反應冷淡》（Why the market shrugged off the Apple antitrust suit.）。 ????譯者：李玫曉/汪皓 |
????It's not hard to see why such an arrangement raised eyebrows in antitrust divisions on both sides of the Atlantic. ????The settlement the DOJ has proposed -- and which three publishers have reportedly accepted -- would, according to the Wall Street Journal, do two things: ????? It would tear up the contracts the publishers signed with Apple ????? It would scrap the most-favored nation clause and impose a "cooling-off period" before they could sign another deal. ????According to the Journal, the government has argued that the waiting period would allow publishers and booksellers to resume a one-to-one relationship, "free of the taint of collusion." ????The length of that cooling-off period is reported to be one of the sticking points for Apple, and it's easy to see why. ????An extended cooling-off period -- in which Amazon goes back to selling bestselling e-books for $9.99 and Apple is still adding its 30% surcharge to the publishers' prices -- could seriously damage Apple's e-book business. ????Worse still, it could keep the books off the iBookstore altogether. ????Apple's lawyers seem to think they can make a case that going to the agency model actually increased competition, allowing e-book rivals to take back some of the 90% market share Amazon had amassed. ????Moreover the company -- unlike most book publishers -- has pockets deep enough to do legal battle with the U.S. government for as long as it takes to get a settlement more to its liking. ????UPDATE: The hammer, as expected, fell Wednesday morning. See Why the market shrugged off the Apple antitrust suit. |
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