Judge lays down Apple’s punishment in e-books case. It’s largely in line with what the feds wanted

Judge Denise Cote issued an injunction against Apple.

The Department of Justice will be happy, because the final injunction contains a lot of what it had asked for. The injunction, which is set to go into place in 30 days, will last for five years — but the court can extend it for “one or more one-year periods” after that, either on its own or at the request of the DOJ or the states. Apple may seek a stay of the injunction pending its appeal. The injunction forbids Apple from enforcing most-favored-nation clauses in any e-book publishing contracts for five years, and also forbids the company from entering into any book publishing contracts that contain them for five years. Apple had wanted this provision to be less broad, relating only to MFN clauses with the five publishers in the case who have already settled. Instead, it applies to all publishers. The DOJ had wanted to change Apple’s in-app purchase policies, and had wanted to force Apple to allow competing e-book retailers — like Amazon — to sell e-books through their apps without taking its customary 30 percent commission. Luckily for Apple, none of that is included in the final injunction.