Wired is reporting that the lawsuit against Apple and AT&T regarding the iPhone’s exclusivity on AT&T’s network, has now reached class action status. This means the suit now represents every iPhone customer in the United States.
In an interview Friday with Wired.com, Mark Rifkin, lead counsel representing the plaintiffs of the suit, highlighted that the terms of AT&T’s two-year customer contract say that customers have the option to terminate whenever they wish for a fee to switch to another carrier.
By only offering the iPhone on one carrier, iPhone customers are still essentially locked in despite having the termination option, the suit argues.
The plaintiffs in the suit have argued that customers who fulfill their two-year contracts can’t take their handset to another network, event after their contract with AT&T has ended. This move essentially locks customers into AT&T’s network if they wish to continue using their iPhone.
In a response filed by Apple’s legal team in 2008, Apple claimed the allegations of monopoly were contrived.
“[T]here was widespread disclosure of [AT&T’s] five-year exclusivity and no suggestion by Apple or anyone else that iPhones would become unlocked after two years,” Apple said in a response. “Moreover, it is sheer speculation – and illogical – that failing to disclose the five-year exclusivity term would produce monopoly power.”
This suit will definitely be interesting to watch play out. It sounds like the plaintiffs have a legitimate case.
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