Sony under antitrust spotlight

 

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By Stuart Turton and Reuters

Posted on 26 Oct 2009 at 08:52

Sony's optical drive unit is being probed by antitrust regulators, the company has announced.

Sony Optiarc America, which supplies a lineup of optical disc drives, including DVDs, CD-ROMs and Blu-ray discs, has received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice's antitrust division to submit documents related to its recent operations.

The investigation is currently confined to Sony's US operations, though the company has indicated that other regulators could follow suit.

"Other countries are also seeking information on the state of competition in optical disc drives," said a spokesperson, declining to comment further on which countries and whether or not Sony was a subject of other probes.

"We are ready to provide full cooperation with US authorities," a Sony spokesman said, declining to give further information.

Sony also declined comment on what products are under investigation and whether or not Blu-ray was included in the investigation.