Ondrej Holzman Kwanaki 236 ke nan da ainihin hukuncin da aka same Apple da laifin karkatar da farashin littattafan e-littattafai. Bayan kusan kashi uku na shekara, batun gaba daya ya isa kotun daukaka kara, inda nan take Apple ya daukaka kara, kuma a yanzu ya gabatar da hujjojinsa. Shin yana da damar yin nasara?
Matsayin Apple a bayyane yake: haɓaka matakin farashin littattafan e-littattafai ya zama dole don ƙirƙirar yanayi mai gasa. Amma ko da nasu m muhawara Ba a san ko kamfanin California zai yi nasara ba.
Hakan ya fara ne a watan Yulin bara, ko kuma a wancan lokacin, Alkali Denise Cote yanke shawarar cewa Apple yana da laifi. Tare da masu buga litattafai guda biyar, ana zargin Apple da yin magudin farashin litattafai. Yayin da masu wallafa biyar - Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin, HarperCollins da Simon & Schuster - sun yanke shawarar daidaitawa da biyan dala miliyan 164, Apple ya yanke shawarar yin yaki kuma ya yi hasara. Kamar yadda aka zata, duk da haka, kamfanin daga Cupertino ya daukaka kara kuma kotun daukaka kara na fuskantar shari'ar.
Kafin Apple ya shiga, Amazon ya faɗi farashin
Kafin Apple ya shiga kasuwar e-book, kusan babu gasa. Akwai Amazon kawai, kuma yana siyar da masu siyar da kaya akan $9,99, yayin da farashin sauran sabbin abubuwa "sun kasance ƙasa da abin da galibi ake ɗauka a matsayin gasa," Apple ya rubuta a cikin sanarwar da ta ga kotun daukaka kara. "Dokokin Antitrust ba su nan don tabbatar da mafi ƙarancin farashi a kowane farashi, amma don haɓaka gasa."
[su_pullquote align=”dama”]Maganar al'umma mafi fifiko ta Apple ta tabbatar da cewa ba ta sake fuskantar gasa ba.[/su_pullquote]
Lokacin da Apple ya shiga kasuwa, ya yi yarjejeniya da mawallafa da yawa don sa ya sami riba don sayar da littattafan e-littattafai. An saita farashin kowane littafin e-littafi tsakanin $12,99 da $14,99, kuma yarjejeniyar ta ƙunshi wani yanki mafi siyar da shi cewa "ta ba da tabbacin cewa za a sayar da littattafan e-littattafai a kan mafi ƙarancin farashi na kasuwa a kantin Apple," ta rubuta a cikin hukuncinta. . Alkalin kasar Cote. Saboda haka, masu bugawa dole ne su haɓaka farashin e-books a cikin shagon Kindle na Amazon.
Maganar mafi kyawun al'umma ta Apple ta tabbatar da cewa "ba ta sake fuskantar gasar sayar da littattafan e-littattafai ba, yayin da kuma ta tilasta wa masu wallafa su ɗauki samfurin hukumar," in ji Cote. A cikin tsarin hukumar, masu wallafa za su iya saita kowane farashi don littafin su, tare da Apple koyaushe yana ɗaukar kwamiti na kashi 30. Wannan shi ne ainihin akasin yadda Amazon ya yi aiki har zuwa lokacin, yana siyan littattafai daga masu buga littattafai sannan kuma suna sayar da su akan farashin su.
Apple: Farashin ya ragu bayan mun isa
Koyaya, Apple ya musanta cewa yana ƙoƙarin sarrafa farashin littattafan e-littattafai. "Ko da yake kotu ta gano cewa yarjejeniyar da hukumar Apple ta gudanar da dabarun tattaunawa sun kasance halal, amma ta yanke hukuncin cewa ta hanyar sauraron korafe-korafen masu wallafawa da kuma yarda da budaddiyar farashin da ya haura dala $9,99, Apple ya tsunduma cikin wata makarkashiya tun farkon taron bincike na farko. tsakiyar Disamba 2009. Apple ba shi da masaniya game da Mawallafa suna da hannu a cikin wani makirci a cikin Disamba 2009 ko a kowane lokaci. Sakamakon da kotun da’ira ta yi ya nuna cewa Apple ya bai wa mawallafa tsarin kasuwanci na tallace-tallace wanda ya dace da bukatun kansa mai zaman kansa kuma yana jan hankalin masu wallafa saboda sun ji takaicin Amazon. Kuma ba bisa ka'ida ba ne Apple ya yi amfani da rashin gamsuwa a kasuwar tare da shiga yarjejeniyar hukuma bisa ga doka don shiga kasuwa da yaki da Amazon."
Kodayake farashin sabbin lakabi ya tashi, Apple ya ƙidaya cewa matsakaicin farashin kowane nau'in e-books ya faɗi daga sama da dala 2009 zuwa ƙasa da $2011 a cikin shekaru biyu tsakanin Disamba 8 da Disamba 7. A cewar Apple, wannan shi ne abin da ya kamata kotun ta mayar da hankali a kai, domin har ya zuwa yanzu Cote ta fi mayar da hankali ne kan farashin sabbin mukamai, amma ba ta magance farashi a daukacin kasuwanni da duk nau'ikan littattafan e-littattafai ba.
[su_pullquote align=”hagu”]Hukuncin kotun ya sabawa kundin tsarin mulkin kasar don haka a soke shi.[/su_pullquote]
Yayin da Amazon ya sayar da kusan kashi 2009 na duk littattafan e-littattafai a cikin 90, a cikin 2011 Apple da Barnes & Noble sun kai kashi 30 da 40 na tallace-tallace, bi da bi. "Kafin Apple ya zo, Amazon ne kawai dan wasa mafi rinjaye wanda ya tsara farashin. Barnes & Noble yana fuskantar manyan asara a lokacin; ba da jimawa ba, dubban masu buga littattafai sun bayyana kuma suka fara tsara farashin su a cikin tsarin gasar,” in ji Apple, wanda ya ci gaba da cewa farashin ya sauko tun lokacin da aka bullo da tsarin hukumar.
Akasin haka, Apple ya ki yarda da ikirari na kotu na cewa farashin Amazon na $9,99 "ya kasance mafi kyawun farashi" kuma an yi niyya don samar da fa'ida ga abokan ciniki. A cewar Apple, dokokin antitrust ba su goyan bayan “mafi kyau” farashin dillalan kan “mafi muni” ba, kuma ba sa saita kowane ma'aunin farashi.
Hukuncin ya yi yawa sosai
Bayan wata biyu da yanke shawararsa Cote ta sanar da hukuncin. An hana Apple shiga kwangilolin da aka fi so-kasa da masu buga littattafan e-littattafai ko kwangilolin da za su ba shi damar sarrafa farashin e-littattafai. Cote ta kuma umurci Apple da kada ya sanar da sauran mawallafa game da mu'amala da masu wallafa, wanda ya kamata ya takaita yiwuwar bullar wani sabon makirci. A lokaci guda kuma, Apple dole ne ya ƙyale sauran masu bugawa iri ɗaya sharuɗɗan siyarwa a cikin ƙa'idodin su waɗanda sauran ƙa'idodin a cikin App Store ke da su.
Apple yanzu ya zo kotun daukaka kara da wata manufa mai ma'ana: yana son soke hukuncin da alkali Denise Cote ya yanke. Apple ya rubuta wa kotun daukaka kara cewa "Hukuncin hukunci ne da bai dace ba, wuce gona da iri kuma bai dace da tsarin mulki ba kuma ya kamata a bar shi." “Umarnin Apple ya umurce ta da ta gyara yarjejeniyar da ta kulla da mawallafin da ake zargi, ko da yake an riga an canza waɗancan yarjejeniyoyin bisa ga sasantawar kotunan mawallafa. A lokaci guda kuma, ƙa'idar ta tsara App Store, wanda ba shi da alaƙa da shari'ar ko shaida."
Faɗin takardar kuma ya haɗa da wani mai kula da waje wanda ya kasance na Cote's aka tura watan Oktoban da ya gabata kuma ya kamata ya sa ido kan ko Apple ya cika komai bisa yarjejeniyar. Duk da haka, haɗin gwiwar tsakanin Michael Bromwich da Apple yana tare da rikice-rikice masu tsawo a kowane lokaci, sabili da haka kamfanin Californian yana so ya kawar da shi. "Sa ido a nan ba daidai ba ne bisa doka game da 'daya daga cikin kamfanonin fasaha mafi kyawun Amurka da ake sha'awar, mai karfi da nasara." A cikin sulhu na masu wallafa, babu wani mai sa ido da ke da hannu, kuma ana amfani da sa ido a nan a matsayin hukunci ga Apple don yanke shawarar zuwa kotu da daukaka kara, yana nuna kansa a matsayin 'marasa kunya'.
