DoJ says Steve Jobs email proves Apple’s guilt in e-book scandal

By Cody Lee on May 16, 2013

Things are really starting to heat up between Apple and the US Department of Justice over this e-book price fixing scandal. The DoJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple last year for allegedly conspiring with major book publishers to raise e-book prices.

And with the trial set to kick off in a few weeks, there’s beginning to be a lot of activity between the two. Yesterday, a DoJ filing popped up that called Apple out for facilitating the price fixing. And today, a potentially damning email from Steve Jobs has surfaced… Read More

 

DoJ calls Apple out for allegedly facilitating e-book price fixing

By Christian Zibreg on May 15, 2013

As you know, publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster all settled with the US Justice Department (DoJ) in an antitrust lawsuit the government filed against them and Apple in April 2012. In turn, DoJ is focusing on Apple now and, according to a new report, is calling Apple out for being a facilitator of an alleged price fixing related to electronic books sold on its iBookstore.

Furthermore, DoJ claimed it collected evidence that proves Apple was the “ringmaster” in the price fixing conspiracy… Read More

 

Apple now a lone holdout in the e-book price fixing suit

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 8, 2013

Last September, three of the nation’s top five book publishers settled with The United States Justice Department (DOJ) over alleged collusion in the pricing of e-books, despite Apple crying foul and accusing Amazon of assisting the government’s agenda. Following DOJ’s deal with HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette, Penguin followed suite in December 2012 and today DOJ announced that Macmillan has stricken a similar settlement with Uncle Sam, leaving Apple as a lone holdout in the suit… Read More

 

Judge approves publisher settlement offers in Apple e-book suit

By Cody Lee on Sep 6, 2012

Earlier this year, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple and 5 major publishers for allegedly conspiring to fix e-book prices. The trial is set for June of next year.

Apple maintains that the lawsuit is ridiculous, and vows to fight the allegations. But not everyone is so sure. A federal judge just approved settlements from three of the publishers… Read More

 

Apple and several publishers offer concessions to avoid e-book suit

By Cody Lee on Aug 31, 2012

A new report is out this morning claiming that Apple and several major publishers have agreed to offer pricing concessions in an effort to end an antitrust investigation by the European Union (EU).

Last December, the EU started looking into claims that Apple was conspiring with publishers to raise e-book prices, saying its “agency model” was hampering digital publishing competition in Europe… Read More

 

Department of Justice defends Apple e-book lawsuit

By Cody Lee on Jul 23, 2012

The US Department of Justice says it has received nearly 1000 public comments since it lodged its lawsuit against Apple and a number of major book publishers earlier this year. The suit claims that Apple worked in concert with the publishers in an effort to raise e-book prices.

The DoJ has responded to the comments today, and has strong words for both Apple and the accused publishers. Despite the pushback, the Department says that it has every intention to move forward with its e-book lawsuits and settlement talks as planned… Read More

 

Judge sets Apple e-book price fixing trial for 2013

By Cody Lee on Jun 23, 2012

Earlier this year, the United States Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five major book publishers for allegedly conspiring to raise e-book prices.

Three of the five publishers have decided to settle with the DoJ. But Apple, however, maintains its innocence. And it’ll get a chance to prove that in court, come next June… Read More

 

iCloud boss Eddy Cue: Uncle Sam is lost in agency model

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 23, 2012

The United States Department of Justice (DoJ), which filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five major publishers for alleged price fixing of electronic books sold on the iBookstore, is painfully lost in the intricacies of the so-called agency model exercised on the iBookstore, says Apple’s Eddy Cue.

Unlike Amazon which gets to dictate prices, often at the expense of publishers, Apple lets publishers set their own price tags on the iTunes store, opting instead to take its standard 30 percent cut.

Somehow, the government alleges such a practice, which has been widely accepted on iTunes since the dawn of time, is the product of a conspiracy.

Now, Apple had to dispatch its online services boss to set the record straight, saying the government doesn’t have a clue… Read More

 

Confident about its case, Apple wants trial on eBook price fixing allegations

By Sebastien Page on Apr 18, 2012

Confident that the US Department of Justice’s allegations that Apple sat down with book publishers to agree on eBooks prices are weak, the company wants to go to trial to defend itself, a lawyer for the company said today.

According to antitrust experts, the DoJ, which filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five other publishers last week has a weak case, and this probably explains why Apple is feeling so strong about the situation… Read More