Conspiracy

Apple Guilty of E-Book Price Fixing

Colluded with book publishers.

Apple is guilty of colluding with book publishers to raise prices for e-books, according to a federal judge, in a decision that will affect how books are sold online. In 2010 Apple and the publishing industry tried to fight Amazon’s dominance of the e-book market by working out a deal that would let publishers set their own prices for e-books sold through Apple, allowing them to raise the cost above Amazon’s $9.99 price point. But in 2012 the Justice Department charged Apple, along with five of the six major publishers, with violations of anti-trust law. The publishers settled, but Apple decided to fight the charges. The judge ruled against Apple and called for a separate trial to determine damages.