Attorney: Apple vulnerable to lawsuit

CUPERTINO, Calif., May 28 (UPI) -- An antitrust attorney said U.S. technology giant Apple was vulnerable to claims it is squelching competition in the business of music downloads.

Apple sells about 70 percent of all digital music downloads through the iTunes store. The next largest competitors, Amazon.com and Walmart, control 12 percent of the market, ComputerWorld reported Friday.

"Seventy percent is sufficient market share to raise the specter of a monopoly," said attorney Hillard Sterling.

"The next, more difficult step for the government would be to show an abuse of that (monopoly) power," Sterling said.

CNET reported Thursday the Department of Justice was in the preliminary stages of an investigation into Apple's behavior, focusing on Apple's alleged threats that iTunes would not promote music that was part of Amazon.com's "MP3 Daily Deal," which involves time-limited sales with new songs handled exclusively by Amazon.

If the Justice Department investigation turns into a lawsuit, "Apple is one of the few companies that could take on this battle, but it would be incredibly expensive and distracting," Sterling said.

The wiser course of action would be for Apple to settle out of court if offered a deal that was "palatable," Sterling said.