US wants to punish Apple: no new e-book deals for 5 years

After the judge ruled last month that Apple, hereinafter referred to as "Apple", colluded with book publishers to increase the retail price of e-books, the US Department of Justice and 33 states proposed a series of recommendations on Friday aimed at ending Apple's illegal actions and preventing similar incidents in the future.

These measures include allowing e-book retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble to provide links to their respective e-bookstores through their iOS apps, and allowing users who purchase and read e-books via iPad or iPhone to compare Apple's e-book prices with those of other retail stores.

Industry insiders said this move is a victory for Apple's competitors, as consumers will be able to conveniently purchase their e-books through iPads and iPhones in the future.

Other measures also include requiring Apple to end its conspiracy agreements with the five major publishers to raise the retail price of e-books, and not to sign new e-book distribution agreements within five years.

In addition, the US Department of Justice also requested the appointment of an external observer responsible for monitoring Apple's anti-monopoly policies, with the observer's salary borne by Apple.

These recommendations still need to be approved by the judge, and are expected not to be fully adopted. Last month, US District Judge Denise Cote of Manhattan ruled that Apple conspired with book publishers to raise the retail price of e-books.

The US Department of Justice had previously stated that Apple manipulated the price of e-books sold through iBookstore via the so-called "agent" pricing model. Under this model, content providers are unable to sell the same e-books at lower prices through other channels.

This is different from the "wholesale-retail" model adopted by market leader Amazon. Under the latter model, distributors purchase e-books from content providers and then determine the retail price themselves.