Apparently the DOJ wants to make sure that you can get your Justin Bieber fix somewhere other than iTunes on New Music Tuesday.  Not too much detail out there on this one, but we’re keeping our collective ear to the ground.  There has to be more to this than just exclusivity in debuting new songs, right?

From Engadget:

It’s all just noise right now, but the United States Justice Department is purportedly having a “very preliminary conversation” with Apple regarding the company’s music business, wondering in particular if anything it’s doing (or has done) would violate antitrust legislation. According to unnamed sources familiar with the situation, DoJ staff seem most interested in whether or not Apple’s dominance in the market enabled it to unfairly prevent Amazon’s music service from exclusively debuting new songs.

Engadget – DoJ making preliminary inquiries into Apple’s music endeavors while iTunes dominance continues

From Gizmodo:

Section 3.3.1 of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement is the one that truly, deeply bans Flash and other cross-platform compilers, so you must use Apple’s development environment for iPhone apps. Well, it might have Apple in antitrust hot water.

The NY Post reports that the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are “locked in negotiations over which of the watchdogs will begin an antitrust inquiry into Apple’s new policy of requiring software developers who devise applications for devices such as the iPhone and iPad to use only Apple’s programming tools.”

Gizmodo – Apple Might Face Antitrust Inquiry

Here are two articles of note that I have come across regarding the SEC investigation of Goldman Sachs.

First, from Darren Stubing in Emirates Business 24/7:

Goldman to trigger an avalanche

The timing of Goldman’s results couldn’t come at a worse time.

Litigation will be complex and lengthy. However, what is clearer is that there will be many more investigations involving the sub-prime market and other financial transactions with more cases expected. The focus on tightening the supervision of banks and the financial markets will continue and the onus which will fall on financial institutions to be prudent, fair and highly transparent. The derivatives market will receive particular focus from market supervisors in a quest to bring more transparency and exposure understanding. The big drive is to unravel the complexity of trading products and positions. Although the restriction on complexity may dampen the capacity for unbridled profit, the increased clarity on products can only be a good thing…

Also, from By Walter Hamilton and Nathaniel Popper in the Los Angeles Times:

Goldman Sachs case has makings of an epic legal showdown

The civil fraud charges filed by government regulators last week against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have put the investment bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission on opposite sides of a case that has all the makings of an epic legal showdown.

But the adversaries share one thing in common — each is scrambling for its reputation.

Goldman is trying to protect its standing among clients, who could be frightened away by any evidence that the company is cheating them.

The SEC is hoping to buff its tarnished image as the regulator that couldn’t catch Bernard L. Madoff, despite a whistle-blower and other evidence that the financier was running a massive Ponzi scheme that swindled billions from investors.

“This is a risky battle for both sides,” said Jill Fisch, a securities law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “This is the test case for the financial crisis…”

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Either way, it looks like a lot of litigation is on its way.

• Will Big Banks Pay Back Their Bailouts Through Biglaw? Here is a link to my Above The Law post on Thursday, regarding the SEC’s investigation into Goldman Sachs.
• Monique Altheim of EDiscoverymap.com has posted a series of interviews she conducted at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit.
• The Posse List has posted their “Top 20…Plus More” collection of e-Discovery links for the week, as well as an article about transitioning from law practice to legal technology.
• Project Counsel has a write up on working as an attorney in Europe.
• Ed Valio is relaxing in Aruba; Chris Spizzirri is in Delaware.
• Ralph Losey pays homage to Judge Waxse and Kansas City.
• According to the blog, Operational Risk Management, “The DOJ is currently pursuing 120-130 FCPA investigations, and now it has set its sights on enforcement in the pharmaceutical industry…”
• Finally, EMC is having a breakfast roundtable discussion on e-discovery trends for 2010.