2 min readNew YorkJul 11, 2013 01:18 AM IST
First published on: Jul 11, 2013 at 01:18 AM IST
BRIAN X CHEN
A federal judge on Wednesday found that Apple violated antitrust law in helping raise the retail price of e-books,saying the company played a central role in facilitating and executing a conspiracy with five big publishers.
Without Apples orchestration of this conspiracy,it would not have succeeded as it did in the spring of 2010, the judge,Denise L Cote of United States District Court in Manhattan,said. She said a trial for damages would follow.
Government lawyers argued in court last month that Apple had colluded with five big American publishers to raise prices for electronic books across the publishing market. The US Justice Department brought the antitrust case against Apple and the publishers a year ago. The publishers settled their cases,but Apple insisted that the company had done nothing wrong.
Apple did not conspire to fix e-book pricing and we will continue to fight against these false accusations, Tom Neumayr,an Apple spokesman,said on Wednesday. When we introduced the iBookstore in 2010,we gave customers more choice,injecting much needed innovation and competition into the market,breaking Amazons monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. Weve done nothing wrong and we will appeal the judges decision.
The antitrust battle underscores the turmoil in the book industry as readers shift from ink and paper to electronic devices like tablets and smartphones,where they can buy content with the push of a button. While the publishers want to embrace new media,they are also trying to protect their profits and retain control of their businesses.
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