A US federal judge has ruled that Apple conspired with five publishers to raise the price of e-books when it opened the iBookStore in 2010.
District Judge Denise Cote said she found ‘compelling evidence’ that Apple had violated US anti-trust law and played a ‘central role’ in the conspiracy with publishers to eliminate competition from the e-book market.
The ruling follows a two-and-a-half week trial last month and means Apple could face substantial damages.
‘Apple chose to join forces with the publisher defendants to raise e-book prices and equipped them with the means to do so,’ explained Cote in the written ruling. She had said before the trial began that the US Justice Department had a strong case against Apple.
By the time the trial began, the five publishers – Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster – had settled with the DoJ, leaving Apple as the only defendant.
‘This result is a victory for millions of consumers who choose to read books electronically, ‘ said the DoJ in a statement. ‘This decision by the court is a critical step in undoing the harm caused by Apple’s illegal actions.’
Apple said it would appeal the ruling.
‘Apple did not conspire to fix e-book pricing. 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,’ said Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr.
