Judge to order Apple to show option records: paper
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A California judge plans to order Apple Inc  to turn over company board-meeting minutes and records relating to stock options accounting to an investor, according to a newspaper report on Tuesday.
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Federal prosecutors are strongly  considering criminal charges against former executives of  Broadcom Corp., Apple Inc., and KLA-Tencor Corp., related to  the backdating of stock options, the Wall Street Journal  reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the situation.
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MacCentral - Select members of the press on Monday received an invitation to to a special Apple event taking place at the California Theatre in San Jose, Calif. The theme of the event would appear to be musically-related and is capitalizing on Apple's recently unveiled iPod and iTunes Music Store promotion with legendary rock band U2, judging from the invitation received by MacCentral. "Steve Jobs, Bono and The Edge invite you to attend a special event," reads the top of the invitation. The invitation-only event is scheduled to take place at 10AM Pacific Time on October 26, 2004.
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In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, Apple said that it was unable to meet the December 14 deadline for filing its annual report. The company cited its ongoing investigation into stock options grants as the reason and said that it would need to restate its historical financial statements.
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Apple Computer Inc.  said on Wednesday an internal investigation found irregularities with its past stock option grants, prompting the immediate resignation of a former chief financial officer from the board of directors.
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(InfoWorld) - With Microsoft's antitrust appeal now decided, the next U.S. technology company to get a place on the European Union (EU)'s regulatory hot seat may be Apple, an antitrust expert said Tuesday. "The decision by the Court of First Instance is a clear signal to the European [Competition] Commission that it has the leeway to go ahead," said Herbert Hovenkamp, a professor at the University of Iowa College of Law and a noted antitrust scholar. "[The commission] now has a license to go ahead, and they have a pretty aggressive posture. I think this bodes ill for some companies." Among those already facing investigations or accusations from the EU antitrust agency, which is led by Neelie Kroes of the Netherlands, are chipmakers Rambus and; Qualcomm, a wireless technology vendor; and Apple. Apple, in fact, will face two days of hearings before the commission starting Wednesday to answer charges that it and its four music label partners are violating EU laws with the pricing structure and purchase restrictions of the iTunes music store. In early April, the commission confirmed that it had sent an SO (Statement of Objections), the agency's term for an official complaint, to Apple and partners EMI, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and Universal Music. The SO claimed consumers are restricted in their choice of where to buy music -- because each country's version of iTunes only accepts orders from customers who live in that country -- and at what price. ITunes tracks sales for varying amounts, depending on the country. But the commission steered clear of calling Apple another Microsoft in April. "The Statement of Objections does not allege that Apple is in a dominant market position," the group said in a statement at the time. Yesterday, Kroes downplayed any link between the court's rejection of Microsoft's appeal and possible action against other U.S. technology companies. "You may hear scare stories about the supposed negative consequences of this ruling for other companies," she said during a news conference Monday afternoon. "Let me be clear. There is one company that will have to change its illegal behavior as a result of this ruling: Microsoft." Microsoft, however, thought different. During his own news conference yesterday, Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, repeatedly pointed to Apple. "Apple has something like a 70 percent market share for digital music," said Smith. "ITunes is far and away the leading source for music on the Internet; the iPod is far and away the leading hardware device for digital music." Even the U.S. Department of Justice weighed in. Thomas Barnett, the assistant attorney general for antitrust, yesterday said: "We are concerned that the standard applied to unilateral conduct by the CFI [Court of First Instance], rather than helping consumers, may have the unfortunate consequence of harming consumers by chilling innovation and discouraging competition." Hovenkamp was confident that yesterday's decision would embolden the commission. "This was a landmark decision and a landmark case," he said. "It stands for a couple of important things. First, it's a declaration of independence, a statement that their anticompetitive policy is not going to be dictated by U.S. policy. Second, it clears the way for the commission to pursue new cases. "You're going to see a more aggressive commission that will go after high technology companies, especially those that are involved with networks or standard setting," Hovenkamp said. "Rambus and Qualcomm, certainly," he said, are among the companies at risk from a combative commission. "Intel? Perhaps. As for Apple, there are some undeveloped issues there." In Apple's favor, he said, are European antitrust traditions that may let the iTunes operator and iPod maker off the hook. Europe's antitrust agency has typically looked differently at two kinds of pricing discrimination. The one where a company prices products differently in different countries in order to squash competition -- pricing products lower in nations where rivals exist, higher where competitors are lacking -- is usually treated harshly, said Hovenkamp. The other type of pricing discrimination, where a seller prices products based on what it thinks a particular country's buyers can bear -- more in Germany, for example, less in Portugal -- are not generally considered a competition problem. "If Apple is pricing differentially because of economies and consumer buying power," said Hovenkamp, "it is probably safe. But if [it is] doing this to suppress competition, the commission may act." Among the possible results of the hearings: fines levied to the tune of 10 percent of global net revenues. Kroes' agency could also dismiss the SO after the hearing. "Europeans are much more comfortable with regulation," said Hovenkamp. Apple did not reply to a request for comment on the court ruling yesterday or on the hearings that kick off tomorrow in Brussels. Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate
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(InfoWorld) - The practice of manipulating stock options grants to make them more favorable has come back to haunt yet another round of high-tech executives. A former Monster Worldwide Inc. executive is expected to agree to a plea deal in New York Thursday, just a day after the founder of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. pleaded guilty to a state felony related to backdating. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan would not comment specifically on a Wall Street Journal report that Monster's former general counsel, Myron Olesnyckyj, will cooperate with its investigation into stock options practices at the company. However, a spokeswoman confirmed that there will be a court proceeding Thursday related to stock options at 12:45 PM ET and the office expects to release more information afterwards. Monster declined to comment beyond releasing the following statement: "The Company terminated this individual some time ago and it is inappropriate to comment on the developments. The Company will continue to cooperate with the government in this ongoing investigation." The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Wednesday said that it simultaneously filed and settled civil charges against Ryan Brant, the former CEO and chairman of Take-Two, a video and computer game publisher and distributor, which he founded. The SEC alleged that during a seven-year period, Brant enriched himself and others by granting undisclosed, "in the money" stock options to himself and to other Take-Two officers and employees. Brant did not admit or deny the allegations, the SEC said, but agreed to a settlement that bars him from serving as the officer or director of a public company. He also agreed to pay about US$6.3 million, comprised of what the SEC called "ill-gotten gains" of more than $4 million plus $1 million interest, plus a $1 million civil penalty. The settlement must still be approved in court. A Take-Two representative said only that Brant is no longer an employee, and it would not be appropriate to comment on his actions as a private individual. Meanwhile, middleware vendor BEA Systems Inc. Wednesday announced the conclusion of its stock-option review. The review won't cost any high-level executives their job, but will cost a number of them money. Several former and current executives and directors have agreed to repay the company after-tax profits they realized on mispriced options.
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Microsoft was expected to show up at a closed-door hearing before Europe&#39;s Court of First Instance in Luxembourg today to push for suspension of an order requiring
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Apple Computer is slated to be in court this fall in England to answer claims that is infringing on a trademark agreement dating back to 1991.
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A reported tiff between the label and Apple could signal a new negotiating stance.
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(InfoWorld) - Apple will follow up its debut iPhone with a cheaper version based on the iPod nano, a JPMorgan financial analyst said yesterday, echoing comments last week by bloggers scouring the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database. Kevin Chang, a Taiwan-based analyst with New York's JPMorgan Chase, said that Apple will release a less-expensive iPhone in the fourth quarter, according to Reuters. Chang, who based his forecast on unnamed sources in the supply channel and an Apple application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filed last week, said a follow-up to the current iPhone could be based on the iPod nano, Apple's flash drive-based music player. "We believe that iPod nano will be converted into a phone because it's probably the only way for Apple to launch a lower-end phone without severely cannibalizing iPod nano," Chang told Reuters. At $300, a scaled-down nano-based iPhone might sell as many as 30 million to 40 million units in 2008, Chang argued. Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, has fixed the iPhone sales target through 2008 at 10 million handsets. Apple's iPod nano currently sells for between $149 and $249. Chang's take comes after bloggers last week noticed a July 5 patent application titled "Touch pad with symbols based on mode" that, they theorized, could serve as the interface for an entry-level iPhone. Both Unwired View and MyiTablet, for instance, noted that the patent described a touchpad-based device that would serve as only phone and iPod. Unlike the current iPhone, the cheaper alternative would not boast a large screen or allow Internet browsing. The patent application spells out a touchpad similar to the iPod's click-wheel that would change modes -- and its display -- depending on the application. When in phone mode, for example, the circular touchpad could show dialing numbers in a style reminiscent of long-obsolete rotary phones. Switch to music mode, and the touchscreen reverts to a traditional iPod click-wheel for traversing artist or genre lists. Apple introduced the iPhone on June 29 to fanfare and long lines of customers.
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Blog: Tobak's take on Steve Jobs' role in the stock options backdating scandal at Apple
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A judge ordered on Tuesday that rights to O.J. Simpson's aborted book, "If I Did It," be sold at auction to help satisfy a civil judgment against the former football star -- meaning the book could find its way into stores.
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The practice of manipulating stock options grants to make them more favorable has come back to haunt yet another round of high-tech executives. A former Monster Worldwide Inc. executive is expected to agree to a plea deal in New York Thursday, just a day after the founder of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. pleaded guilty to a state felony related to backdating.
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By Troy Wolverton, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.  Feb. 9--Already under scrutiny for his role in misdated stock options at  Apple, Steve Jobs is facing growing questions about whether he was involved in  similar problems at Pixar.
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Apple Computer Inc. AAPL.O has  sued three men for illegally distributing test copies of the  next version of its Mac OS X operating system on a file-sharing  Web site, court records showed on Tuesday.
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A judge ordered on Tuesday that  rights to O.J. Simpson&#39;s aborted book, &quot;If I Did It,&quot; be sold  at auction to help satisfy a civil judgment against the former  football star -- meaning the book could find its way into  stores.