Roger Fingas
Apple has lost a Taiwanese lawsuit accusing it of anti-competitive phone pricing tactics, and barring an appeal will be fined T$20 million, or a little over $647,000 U.S., a report said on Wednesday.
The fine was previously issued by Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission, which charged that Apple broke the law by demanding that Taiwanese carriers get approval for prices on iPhone plans, according to Reuters. Apple launched a countersuit, but lost.
In particular Apple was said to have imposed contract prices for the iPhone 4, 4S, 5, and 5s. It also allegedly claimed final say over iPhone subsidies, ad content, and price gaps between older and newer models.
Such tactics are common for Apple in other countries — including the U.S. — but a Commission spokesman noted that under Taiwanese law, a carrier owns the phones it sells and is free to set its own pricing.
Apple has so far refused to comment on the matter, including whether it will pursue an appeal.
The company has an outsized influence on Taiwan. In the December quarter the iPhone achieved a 32 percent marketshare, International Data Corp told Reuters, and major partners in the Apple supply chain — such as Foxconn, Pegatron, and TSMC — are headquartered in the country, even if many of their factories are located in mainland China.
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
Charles Martin
Marko Zivkovic
Wesley Hilliard
29 Comments
Y-ouch, that's gotta hurt! /s
Not the pocket, but the ego maybe.
[quote name="patpatpat" url="/t/186796/taiwan-fines-apple-647k-for-forcing-carriers-to-seek-iphone-pricing-approval#post_2736755"]Not the pocket, but the ego maybe.[/quote] It could force a change in that country where phones there only come from Apple's website or stores. This would hurt the carriers as they lose a source of revenue. Apple will more than likely do this than allow the iPhone brand to be at risk by loss leader pricing. I just don't see it happening. When that happens those complaining will suddenly be asking the government to forget their complaints.
I'm ok with that. Little Taiwan still standing strong.
These laws sound like they were written by the local carriers, for their benefit.