Watchdog eyes e-books

In everything it does, from product design to business deals, Apple strives for as much control as possible.

But because the world's most respected company sets out to define and dominate the rapidly evolving markets it created with the iPhone and iPad, Apple is probably going to stand antitrust regulators who would like to curb its power.

Apple's clout is coming under scrutiny because the US Justice Department considers filing a lawsuit against the corporate and five US publishers for an alleged scheme that has driven up the costs of electronic books for the reason that 2010 release of the iPad.

The involved parties are attempting to prevent a high-profile court battle by negotiating a settlement, in step with the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper broke the scoop last week in regards to the US Justice Department's plans to allege that Apple and the publishers orchestrated the cost-fixing scheme to thwart the e-book discounts offered by Amazon.com.

"i suspect this would be slightly a wake-up demand Apple," said Ted Henneberry, an antitrust attorney for the Orrick law firm in Washington.

Apple has sold greater than 315 million iPhones, iPads and iPods that run on its mobile operating system, giving it the keys to a market as a way to become increasingly influential as more people buy digital content.

"That platform has become really essential for many people," said David Balto, an antitrust attorney.

- AP