August 14 - 3:40pm EDT   Psystar is "definitely still shipping" its Mac clones, in spite of an ongoing lawsuit from Apple, reads a message from the company. "Recently, our sales team has received several inquiries as to whether or not our systems are still available," the company says. "Psystar is definitely still shipping Open Computing products and we've introduced our restore utilities to enhance the computing experience for our customers at no extra cost." [full story]

August 4 - 4:00pm EDT   One of the lawyers representing Mac clone maker Psystar -- which is defending itself in a copyright and trademark infringement suit filed by Apple -- says the case has been "mischaracterized," and is hinting that antitrust laws may come into play. Colby Springer tells Computerworld that the lawsuit is more complicated than just copyright or trademark issues, and suggests that the defense may try to paint Apple as a monopoly, exerting control over its software to limit competition in the hardware business. [full story]

July 17 - 3:10pm EDT   Competition among multiple iPhone carriers in Italy has not resulted in low prices and happy customers, notebook italia reports. Controversy over service prices has led to a 10,000-signature petition, expressing disappointment with excessive costs. [full story]

July 16 - 12:30pm EDT   The European Commission has ordered music copyright organizations to allow pan-European licensing schemes, says the Associated Press. At present, companies looking to sell music throughout Europe must negotiate agreements with 24 separate collecting societies, scattered throughout the European Union. While this may protect national industries and culture, the Commission has ruled that it also breaks antitrust regulations, giving the societies monopolies in their respective homelands. [full story]

July 3 - 12:45pm EDT   The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance has come out against proposed changes to how online music royalties are collected, writes the Associated Press. The conflict stems from an ongoing investigation by the European Commission, aimed at addressing antitrust concerns relating to the lack of Europe-wide royalty schemes. The Commission notes that currently, national copyright agencies have effective monopolies in their respective regions; there is also a need to negotiate as many as 27 separate royalty schemes for an album, something which may be hampering the spread of European music. [full story]

June 6 - 1:45pm EDT   Intel is officially being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission, writes the Wall Street Journal. The CPU maker has been accused of violating US antitrust laws, specifically for a practice of using exclusive rebates and other tactics designed to discourage builders from turning to other companies. The case appears to be the result of long-term pressure from rival AMD, which has yet to resolve an antitrust lawsuit first filed in 2005. Another government probe began this year in the state of New York, with the help of local politicians. [full story]

March 21 - 12:30pm EDT   The FCC is indeed moving closer to a decision on the merger of Sirius and XM Radio, according to the group's chairman. Kevin Murphy is cited by Reuters as saying that draft documents are being put together, which will outline the choices the FCC can make on particular details of the merger. "I have asked the staff, after we've gotten all the final information that we needed, to be doing drafts, and when there were issues outstanding to do a range of options for us," he states. [full story]

March 17 - 12:55pm EDT   The US Supreme Court has denied a Microsoft appeal aimed at defeating an antitrust lawsuit, writes the Associated Press. The suit was originally launched by Novell in 2004, and accuses Microsoft of having "deliberately targeted and destroyed" WordPerfect and Quattro Pro with the purpose of preserving the monopoly of the Windows operating system. Both applications continue to be sold under the aegis of Corel, but no longer hold the marketshare they once did. [full story]

February 13 - 12:00pm EST   Google may be losing interest in protecting Yahoo from a hostile buyout by Microsoft, says the Wall Street Journal. Sources "familiar with the matter" tell the publication that Google -- long rumored to be involved -- may be concerned about attracting attention from regulators, given that both companies already control vast amounts of web search and advertising. A Google/Yahoo partnership might theoretically constitute a violation of US antitrust law. [full story]

January 10 - 12:55pm EST   New York has officially begun an investigation into Intel antitrust allegations, Reuters reports. The state's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, says his office has subpoenaed Intel for a variety of information, following preliminary indications that Intel may have forced companies to exclude rival chipmaker AMD from the CPU market. "Our investigation is focused on determining whether Intel has improperly used monopoly power to exclude competitors or stifle innovation," says Cuomo. "We will also look at whether Intel abused its power to remove competitive threats or harm competition in violation of New York and federal antitrust laws." [full story]