Apple Found Guilty of Price Fixing in DoJ Lawsuit

In a lengthy process that pitted publishers and retailers against each other, Judge Denise Cote ruled today that there was sufficient evidence brought forward by the Department of Justice, demonstrating that Apple is indeed guilty or working with publishers to set the prices of ebooks. This collusion was allegedly aimed at reducing Amazon’s power within the retail ebook market, coinciding with the launch of the iBookstore and the release of Apple’s iPad in 2010. With court proceedings that got as detailed as what time emails from one party to another may have been sent, and with some of those emails’ validity even being called into question, this ruling is somewhat of a surprise. Initially, Judge Cote made an opening remark that Apple would have its work cut out for it in the case, since the evidence didn’t look good for the technology giant. This statement alone prompted Apple’s attorneys to openly question whether or not Apple would get a fair trial in this issue. While the five publishers initially involved in the proceedings have long since settled out of court on the alleged anti-trust violations aimed at knocking Amazon’s low ebook prices out of the way, Apple has stated today that it will appeal Judge Cote’s ruling. In a statement to AllThingsD, the defendant said, “Apple did not conspire to fix ebook pricing and we will continue to fight against these false accusations. When we introduced the iBookstore in 2010, we gave customers more choice, injecting much needed innovation and competition into the market, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. We've done nothing wrong and we will appeal the judge's decision.” For its part, law firm Hagens Berman, who filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of consumers in August of 2011, now has the door open to move forward with reclaiming some of the moneys that consumers overpaid for ebooks due to the price fixing. This ruling means that the consumers will not need to go back to court in order to determine Apple’s guilt in this circumstance, since Judge Cote’s ruling today already decides their involvement. “Judge Cote ruled definitively that Apple was guilty of conspiring to fix prices for e-books, and we believe this ruling is binding on the consumer case, meaning we do not need to again prove Apple's culpability in the price-fixing scheme," said Steve Berman in an email. "Once we receive class certification, the only issue that will remain is for a jury to assess damages, which under federal law are trebled, or tripled…When we filed the original consumer case, we were certain that e-book purchasers across the country were victims of a well-organized price-fixing scheme organized largely by Apple. We were heartened when the Department of Justice and the States filed their own anti-trust cases. Those cases were masterfully prosecuted, culminating in today's ruling." Apple Found Guilty of Price Fixing in DoJ Lawsuit is a post from: E-Reader News

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