Italian court upholds Apple warranty fine

An Italian court has upheld a €900,000 (US$1.2 million) fine imposed on Apple by Italy's competition authority for allegedly violating consumer protection laws, Italian media reported late Friday.The Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) of Lazio rejected Apple's appeal against the fine imposed by the Antitrust Authority last December for "unfair commercial practices that damage the consumer."The court found that Apple Italy was not fully applying a two-year guarantee that is obligatory under European law and was providing unclear information on its own additional commercial warranties, the online edition of the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.An Apple Italy spokesman was not immediately available for comment.The Antitrust fine applies to Apple Sales International, Apple Italia and Apple Retail Italia and concerns their alleged failure to inform customers of their right to a 24-month warranty from the vendor under European Union regulations and insufficiently clear information on the company's own AppleCare Protection Plan and its partial duplication of the existing legal warranties.A campaign to force Apple to modify its behavior in Italy was spearheaded by the Milan-based consumer association Altroconsumo.