Apple have been found guilty of a conspiracy to fix e-book prices
A trial has been ordered for damages after District Judge Denise Cote ruled the iPad maker and five publishers conspired to raise e-book prices and eliminate retail competition.
The plaintiffs in the case said the conspiracy was designed to dent the dominance of Amazon and their Kindle readers, who once held 90 per cent of the market.
The judge said Apple “created a mechanism and environment that enabled them to act together in a matter of weeks to eliminate all retail price competition for their e-books. “
The court heard Apple and publishers agreed to a pricing policy that forced millions of consumers to pay more for most online books.
Apple denied the charges and called them false accusations, saying that they will appeal against the decision.
The plaintiffs said the conspiracy was designed to dent the dominance of the Amazon Kindle
The evidence is overwhelming that Apple knew of the unlawful aims of the conspiracy and joined the conspiracy with the specific intent to help it succeed
She added: “The evidence is overwhelming that Apple knew of the unlawful aims of the conspiracy and joined the conspiracy with the specific intent to help it succeed.”
The judge quoted Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs saying the most compelling evidence came in his own words.
Mr Jobs was asked by a reporter about Amazon’s price for an e-book and said it would be irrelevant as soon all prices would ‘be the same ‘.
Attorneys for the US Justice Department are seeking unspecified damages, with the amount set to be determined at a later date.
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