Antitrust and Consumer Protection
Competition: Spring 2019, Vol 29, No. 1
Content
- Antitrust Enforcement Panel: a Conversation With Two Enforcers
- Antitrust, Ucl and Privacy Section Executive Committee 2018-2019
- California and Federal Antitrust Law Update: Procedural Developments
- California Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Update: Substantive Law
- California Antitrust and Consumer Protection Section Law Update: Substantive Law
- Chair's Column
- Editor's Note
- Golden State Institute's 28Th Anniversary Edition
- In re: Processed Egg Products Antitrust Litigation: a Panel Discussion With Trial Counsel
- In re: Solodyn Antitrust Litigation: Lessons From a "Big Stakes" Reverse Payment Pharmaceutical Trial
- Managing Class Actions and Complex Litigation—a View From the Bench
- Social Media, Right To Privacy and the California Consumer Privacy Act
- The Interplay of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and U.S. E-Discovery—One Year Later, the View Remains the Same
- Where Do We Go From Here: Article III Standing and Cy Pres-only Settlements In Privacy Class Actions In the Wake of Frank V. Gaos
- A Practitioner's Perspective: Why the Supreme Court Should Not Overturn Illinois Brick In Apple V. Pepper
A PRACTITIONER’S PERSPECTIVE: WHY THE SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT OVERTURN ILLINOIS BRICK IN APPLE V. PEPPER1
By Steven N. Williams2
I. INTRODUCTION
During the course of oral argument in Apple v. Pepper, counsel for plaintiff was asked several times why the plaintiffs’ bar did not support calls for the Supreme Court to overrule Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois.3 This article reviews the issues raised in Pepper, and provides this lawyer’s response to the question of why Illinois Brick should not be disturbed.
The plaintiffs in Pepper purchased apps for their iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices from Apple’s App Store. These apps can only be sold and purchased through Apple’s App Store.4 This model is unique to Apple. The transactions in which the plaintiffs purchase apps are solely between the plaintiffs and Apple. Apple does not mandate the prices that app developers may charge for their products when sold through the App Store. Many are free. If they are not free, their price must end in .99. iPhone users pay Apple when they buy an app from the App Store. Apple retains 30% of the purchase price paid for an app, and remits the remaining 70% to the app developer.