AppleInsider Staff
The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday confirmed a lower court's finding that Apple colluded with major publishers to raise the price of e-books following the launch of the iBookstore, putting the case to rest and clearing the way for distribution of a $450 million settlement.
Update: "While we want to put this behind us, the case is about principles and values," Apple told Reuters. "We know we did nothing wrong back in 2010 and are assessing next steps."
"We conclude that the district court correctly decided that Apple orchestrated a conspiracy among the publishers to raise ebook prices, that the conspiracy unreasonably restrained trade in violation of §1 of the Sherman Act, and that the injunction is properly calibrated to protect the public from future anticompetitive harms," the court wrote. "Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is affirmed."
Judge Debra Ann Livingston delivered the opinion, with Judge Raymond J. Lohier concurring. Judge Dennis Jacobs, who has been critical of the case from the beginning, dissented.
Even as Apple has continued to fight the case, it reached terms with the government for a $450 million settlement late last year. If the appeals court had ruled that the case should be reconsidered, that amount would have dropped to just $70 million.
Following Tuesday's ruling, the company can begin disbursing settlement funds. Around $400 million will be refunded to consumers, while $50 million will go toward the case's legal fees.
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46 Comments
Couldn't let the launch of Apple Music go without some negative news to offset it.
Apple needs to get their heads out of their ass. When someone comes at you gangster-style, you break their knees. You don't throw your preppy legal team at them.
Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr has said the company, unsurprisingly, plans to appeal. "Apple did not conspire to fix ebook pricing and we will continue to fight against these false accusations," he said in a statement to The Verge. "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."
That's not the "final" ruling unless they decline to appeal: that was a three judge panel, a subset of the full appellate court. They can appeal for a full court hearing.
What utter horse-shit. These judges must be either fucking stupid, or bought-out, as anyone honestly considering the actual facts would never be able to conclude any kind of conspiracy or collusion from them. Disgusting.