The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a response criticizing Apple’s recent request to obtain evidence from Samsung in South Korea in the ongoing antitrust case.
Apparently, the DoJ isn’t buying Apple’s arguments. According to 9to5Mac, the agency says in a filing that the tech giant took too long to make this request, argues that the process is unlikely to be completed before the close of fact discovery, and makes clear it should not be used to justify extending deadlines.
DOJ added that, if the court does grant the request, Apple “should bear the risk that some or all of the evidence it seeks from South Korea may not return in time.”
Earlier this month Apple asked a U.S. court to formally request internal Samsung documents from South Korea as part of discovery in the Department of Justice’s ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the company, reports MacRumors.
In May 2024 the DOJ filed the lawsuit, alleging that Apple monopolizes smartphone markets. From the DoJ announcement: The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleges that Apple illegally maintains a monopoly over smartphones by selectively imposing contractual restrictions on, and withholding critical access points from, developers. Apple undermines apps, products, and services that would otherwise make users less reliant on the iPhone, promote interoperability, and lower costs for consumers and developers. Apple exercises its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, content creators, artists, publishers, small businesses, and merchants, among others. Through this monopolization lawsuit, the Justice Department and state Attorneys General are seeking relief to restore competition to these vital markets on behalf of the American public.
However, Apple has said the case should be dismissed because the DOJ’s lawsuit doesn’t meet the legal standards required to prove a violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act.
As noted by MacRumors, all four complaints in the DoJ case identify Samsung as Apple’s “closest smartphone competitor,” and plaintiffs allege that Apple’s conduct caused Samsung to stop making smartwatches that connect to iPhone in 2021. Apple subpoenaed Samsung’s U.S. subsidiary, Samsung Electronics America, for documents, but the subsidiary declined to produce any records, arguing the materials are held solely by its South Korean parent. Apple says Samsung America lodged that objection 65 times across its responses.
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