iBooksThe ongoing dispute over external compliance monitoring of Apple in the e-books antitrust case has taken another turn today, with a federal appeals court granting Apple a brief reprieve from monitoring as it considers the possibility of a longer stay as Apple appeals the original decision, reports Reuters.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York granted Apple an "administrative stay" of the court order appointing the monitor, Michael Bromwich, while the company seeks permission for a longer stay during its appeal.

In a brief order, the 2nd Circuit said a three-judge panel would hear Apple's motion for a stay pending appeal as soon as possible. It gave the government until Jan. 24 to file opposition papers. The government did not oppose the request for an administrative stay.

Last November, Apple filed a formal complaint regarding Bromwich, alleging significant overreach and exorbitant fees. In response, Bromwich, who has no significant previous antitrust experience and whose ties to Judge Denise Cote have been questioned, claimed that Apple was hindering his investigations.

Apple formally requested removal of Bromwich earlier this month, but Cote declined to do so, arguing that "Apple's reaction to the existence of a monitorship underscores the wisdom of its imposition."

Apple is continuing to pursue an appeal of the original decision, and the appeals court will ultimately decide whether the monitoring by Bromwich should be put on hold while that appeal is heard.

Top Rated Comments

solamar Avatar
149 months ago
It is about time for the tide to turn on this case!
Well, you'll note it was out of Cote's hands at this point. Everything up to this point has been all Judge Cote. Who, really, is on the defensive, though thats not how many news media's present it.

Her conduct and link to Bromwich is a very big deal and has the potential of pulling her from the bench.

I honestly don't think Apple would have kept pushing unless they thought they had something to that effect. They just needed to hold out long enough to get it into the Appeals Court. I often wonder if thats what Cote meant when she "supposedly" told Bromwich to hurry up and get in there, that he wouldn't have much time.

Anyway, we'll see I guess. All bets are off at this point I think. Depends on what kind of hand Apple really has.. we should now in the next few weeks/months.

Now the real pop-corn, head turning, begins. I want extra butter on mine. ;)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PBUser167 Avatar
149 months ago
So, what, Bromwich just sits in a hotel for a while?

If nothing else, he cannot bill Apple $1100 an hour for the remainder of this week. :D
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rmatthewware Avatar
149 months ago
If someone is guilty of price fixing, it's Amazon. They had set the price artificially low in an attempt to kill the competitors, control the market, and inadvertently harm publishers. I'm not for higher prices, but the market should determine those prices, not one seller. What Apple did was get together with publishers and said, 'hey, why don't you set the price of the book and if no one buys it, you'll have to lower prices'. This is how the economy is supposed to work. The government, and many citizens, only care when price fixing raises prices. Keeping a price artificially low hurts the very businesses whose product you want. While it may not hurt the big authors, it can really hurt smaller authors and prevent new authors from ever getting published. The publishers get the prophet but they also assume all the risk.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2457282 Avatar
149 months ago
I really never understood why Apple was guilty of price fixing. And this whole business with this guy is really beyond me. I do hope that in appeals things get sorted out better. The idea of going back to Amazon setting the price for books just does not sound right (I know that is not exactly what was decided, but in essence the judge said that Apple was guilty of colluding in breaking the Amazon model and that in doing so that was a bad thing).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
firedept Avatar
149 months ago
This is a good decision. It is clearly a conflict to put someone who has no antitrust experience into a position of overseeing such a large decision by the courts. Especially a friend of the judge who handed down that decision.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PBUser167 Avatar
149 months ago
It is about time for the tide to turn on this case!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...