Apple v. Pepper: This is what makes it interesting

Does Apple have monopoly control of the App Store? Of course it does. That’s not what this case is about.

From Supreme Court to review Apple app store commissions case in the Financial Times ($):

The case is a key test of how antitrust rules can be applied to online marketplaces operated by tech companies including eBay, Amazon’s Marketplace division, secondary ticketing site StubHub and Google Play, the app store for Android smartphones.

“The stakes for antitrust law are quite significant,” said Mark Lemley, professor at Stanford Law School. “The court has an opportunity to revisit the rule that prevents end customers — the people antitrust law is supposed to benefit — from suing to enforce the law. While Apple wants to make it even harder for customers to sue, most antitrust scholars think it should be easier.”

My take: I love that the arguments revolve around a 40-year-old decision called Illinois Brick. SCOTUSblog has the docs. The Justice Department filed a well-constructed friend-of-the-court brief supporting Apple. Whatever your thoughts on the merits of the case, you can take comfort in the fact that some parts of the government are still functioning.