Amazon, Google Sweat During Apple-DOJ Trial

Lost in the flash blast of the NSA data mining revelations was today's Apple-DOJ court case highlights. Witnesses included Google's director of strategic partnerships, whose testimony was cut to ribbons by Apple's lead attorney, according to a story in theverge.com. Today's star, however, was Amazon vice president for Kindle content Russ Grandinetti. Many observers were especially keen to hear what a typically "no comment" senior management Amazon official would say under oath. Also, there was more than a little suspicion about the Seattle company's motives, as this Obama administration darling was widely viewed as the stimulant for the antitrust complaint.

Amazon VP Russ Grandinetti
(photo: engadget.com)

Grandinetti answered all questions except one -- the key one. According to a report that appeared in macdailynews.com, the Amazon VP said he was not "'comfortable discussing the contents of a January 24, 2010 meeting held in Amazon boss' Jeff Bezos' Seattle boathouse. He quickly went from uncomfortable to silent: "Although Grandinetti wouldn't say anything about the meeting in Bezos' boathouse -- not even if Bezos attended it -- documents presented into evidence showed that the next day, Jan. 25, Amazon began developing its own terms for an agency contract. Those terms, as it turns out, were remarkably similar to the ones Apple was negotiating with the publishers...Those terms are among the ones the government has characterized in Apple's contracts as part of an illegal scheme to fix prices."

Jeff Bezos' boathouse
(photo: forbes.com)

One can imagine why Grandinetti was "not comfortable." Had he acknowledged Bezos' attendance, that assertion would have implied the Amazon capo's involvement in this critical meeting. Well, maybe Bezos is the kind of secretive billionaire who indulges his employees and lets them have Sunday meetings at his private boathouse, since Jeff wasn't using it. (Of course, we have to take Bezos' absence on faith, don't we?)  Maybe Bezos will give Russ and friends the keys to his automobiles, a way into the kitchen in case they're hungry, a change of clothes for a swim. Are you buying this story?

Whose idea was to have the meeting at the Amazon CEO's boathouse?