Apple is being temporarily relieved of the court-appointed antitrust-compliance monitor that it had instated after being found guilty in an ebook price-fixing trial last year. According to Reuters, the monitor is being removed at least until a federal court can hear Apple's motion to have the monitor fully removed during its appeal of the decision. The government did not oppose Apple's request for this temporary stay on the monitor, and it will reportedly have until January 24th to oppose its motion to remove the monitor throughout the appeal.

The stay is a small victory for Apple, but a victory nonetheless. Apple has been criticizing the monitor, Michael Bromwich, for several months now, complaining that Bromwich has been charging it exorbitant fees and acting too intrusively. Apple could see a full reprieve from the court-appointed monitor soon, though the monitor's ultimate presence rests on whether Apple succeeds in appealing last year's decision.