DOJ to Apple: all your iTunes are belong to us.

[xtabber]

After winning their anti-trust suit against Apple for e-book price-fixing, the US Department of Justice has revealed their proposed remedy, and it is no mere slap on the wrist.

DOJ is demanding that Apple terminate the agreements with the 5 major publishing conglomerates that brought on the lawsuit. But it would also require Apple to cease and desist from any anti-competitive practiices, allow in-app sales by Amazon, B&N and other competitors for e-books, as well as for other media including music and video. It would also require an auditor to monitor Apple's compliance over the next 2 years.

Apple, needless to say, is calling this "draconian" and pledging to fight it, and of course, the court would have to approve any remedy, but it should be remembered that this judge has already ruled twice against Apple and has had very harsh words about their business practices.

[40hz]

It isn't over till it's over. I'd still wait for Apple to cut a deal with the DoJ in the end.

The DoJ got their victory in court and garnered a lot of press. Now that that's out of the way, they'll want to wrap up any appeals fairly quickly and move onto their next battle. Which means about a year from now you can expect to see some sort of bargain will be struck. And with considerably less fanfare this time.