Apple appeals verdict, punishment in e-book antitrust case

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Apple on Thursday formally notified the court that they will appeal the guilty verdict and resulting injunctions handed down in July's e-book antitrust ruling.

Apple files notice of appeal


Apple's fight against the Department of Justice will shift into the hands of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals as Cupertino's lead attorney, Orin Snyder, filed an official notice of appeal Thursday on behalf of the iPhone maker. Snyder previously indicated the company's plans to appeal in an August letter to Judge Denise Cote.

The notice comes nearly three months after Apple was found guilty of conspiring with major publishers to raise e-book prices and just one day before an injunction handed down as a result of the verdict was set to go into effect. The injunction would force Apple to stagger contract renegotiations with publishers and bring on an external compliance monitor, among other punishments.

"Notice is hereby given that Defendant Apple Inc. (?Apple?) appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from the Plaintiff United States? Final Judgment," Snyder wrote, "including the injunction the Court entered against Apple."

Apple is not required to submit its formal arguments for the appeal until early 2014, according to GigaOm.

On Friday, publisher Simon & Schuster filed a separate notice of appeal, though the CBS subsidiary only intends to fight the injunction due to its effect on the company's ability to renegotiate its contracts with Apple. Simon & Schuster settled with the Department of Justice in 2012.
«1345

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 82

    Just move on - it is what it is - and move forward! 

  • Reply 2 of 82
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Excellent, and doing it by the book!
  • Reply 3 of 82
    Good grief! I thought this was finally over. Let it go already!
  • Reply 4 of 82
    aaarrrggghaaarrrgggh Posts: 1,609member
    holmstockd wrote: »
    Just move on - it is what it is - and move forward! 
    It's not that simple, unfortunately. There is the very substantial ideological issue that has a meaningful impact on how Apple conducts negotiations. The settlement issues are more minor and don't have a real impact on Apple, but the precedent this sets is simply not acceptable to them.
  • Reply 5 of 82
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Apple was found guilty of conspiring with major publishers to raise e-book prices

    Meanwhile in France, the government raises Amazon's overall book prices to encourage competition:

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/03/french-mps-bill-amazon-discount-books

    "Since 1981 French law has fixed book-prices so that readers pay the same whether they buy online, from a big high street chain, or from a small bookseller. Extensive discounting is banned.

    The law, which applies to all online booksellers, does allow for a small amount of discounting – as long as it is no more than 5%. Small booksellers argue they cannot compete with Amazon because it provides free postage and free fast delivery deals on top of 5% discount."

    So if Apple can't compete with Amazon because their prices are too low to make a viable business out of it and takes steps to keep the business healthy, they are punished. In France, it's the law to fix the prices.

    The problem is, they're both right. If retailers collude with suppliers to keep prices high then it costs consumers more and free market competition can't do anything about it. If big retailers use their infrastructure to price things so cheaply that smaller businesses can't compete with them, they'll drive them out of business very easily and people will lose jobs.

    Implementing laws one way or the other and punishing selectively isn't the right thing to do but they can't keep the prices low enough to avoid harming consumers and high enough to encourage competition at the same time.
  • Reply 6 of 82
    hydrogenhydrogen Posts: 314member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post









    "Since 1981 French law has fixed book-prices so <...>



     

     

     

    Thank you, Marvin, but with this formulation the US reader will provably be confirmed in his view that France is a communist country !

     

    The price is not fixed by law (or the government) ! It is fixed by the publisher, but is unique, this is what the law says.

     

    The 1981 law has been recently reinforced in the sense that Amazon can no longer offer for free the delivery of "physical" books, which was Amazon tactic to circumvent the law.

     

    The US reader also has to know that one of the reasons why Amazon could do this is that it supported in France a lower tax scheme than the other "normal" (what you call "brick and mortar", I believe) distributors ... (it still does, by the way, because changing this would require a decision at European level)

  • Reply 7 of 82
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by EWTHeckman View Post



    Good grief! I thought this was finally over. Let it go already!

     

    Giving Amazon a monopoly on book pricing where they sell the books below cost just to sell their Kindles is not a fair judgement. The authors are getting screwed and so is Amazon's competition. The Justice Department seems to feel an Amazon ebook store monopoly is the only solution. I applaud Apple to not just "let it go already"

  • Reply 8 of 82
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by holmstockd View Post

    Just move on - it is what it is - and move forward! 

     

     

    How about no, we don’t let the truth be covered up and innocents be punished, okay?

  • Reply 9 of 82
    froodfrood Posts: 771member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

     

     

    How about no, we don’t let the truth be covered up and innocents be punished, okay?


     

     

    For once I agree with you, the truth should come out and the innocent book buyers that had book prices jump up overnight due to Apple's shenanigans shouldn't be punished and should get their money back!

  • Reply 10 of 82
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    I heard Amazon just donated to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
  • Reply 11 of 82

    HOW about YES and let this massive corporation stop pretending its greedy for its shareholders and just move forward - i would respect a company that said "we don't agree but in the interest of progress we will move forward"...

     

    Unless you are appealing the damage - but they are appealing both the verdict too - LET THE VERDICT STAND AND MOVE ON! 

  • Reply 12 of 82
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by holmstockd View Post

    HOW about YES and let this massive corporation stop pretending its greedy for its shareholders and just move forward - i would respect a company that said "we don't agree but in the interest of progress we will move forward"...

     

    Unless you are appealing the damage - but they are appealing both the verdict too - LET THE VERDICT STAND AND MOVE ON! 


     

    How about no, we get the truth to come out in court and no, we stop the FUD on forums.

     

    I can do this all year. Stop lying.

     

    Apple being a “massive corporation” is meaningless. Apple doesn’t really care about its shareholders any more than it has to. They care, however, about Amazon getting away with what Apple was WRONGFULLY accused of doing.

  • Reply 13 of 82
    Amazing how people believe corporations are honest lol

    They got caught they are not the first or will they be the last.

    I love my iPad and macs don't get me wrong...

    But Apple is about making money pure and simple.

    They are the same as Exxon, Pepsi and every other share holders company - profit profit and sometimes the ethical lines get blurred.

    I work as a deposition videographer and this is not my first time seeing this with apple or every other company. Been doing this for over 17 years.

    So if you want to believe there were honest and no evil exists in any man behind the executive throne then by all means go ahead.

    That's your choice.

    They just look foolish trying to appeal a Verdict then being bigger and moving on.
  • Reply 14 of 82
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by holmstockd View Post

    Amazing how people believe corporations are honest lol



    Yeah, it’s amazing that you think Amazon isn’t guilty of this.

     

    They got caught…


     

    Doing nothing wrong.

     

    I love my iPad and macs don’t get me wrong... But


     

    Are you even trying anymore?

     

     Apple is about making money pure and simple. 




     

    Thanks for intimating that you know nothing about what Apple is. Don’t comment on Apple again.

  • Reply 15 of 82
    Ah dude maybe u did not see what I wrote all corporations!!! That includes amazon... Amazon is a corporation too money before principals.


    Apple is guilty plain and simple.

    Next!
  • Reply 16 of 82
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GadgetCanadaV2 View Post

     

     

    Giving Amazon a monopoly on book pricing where they sell the books below cost just to sell their Kindles is not a fair judgement. The authors are getting screwed and so is Amazon's competition. The Justice Department seems to feel an Amazon ebook store monopoly is the only solution. I applaud Apple to not just "let it go already"


     

    How does Amazon "have a monopoly"?

  • Reply 17 of 82
    Apple is guilty there I said apple again sorry to insult your god.
  • Reply 18 of 82
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by holmstockd View Post

    Apple is guilty plain and simple.

     

    Of. 

     

    What.

  • Reply 19 of 82
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    ewtheckman wrote: »
    How does Amazon "have a monopoly"?

    90% market share prior to Apple.
    holmstockd wrote: »
    Apple is guilty there I said apple again sorry to insult your god.

    And there's another troll meme.
  • Reply 20 of 82
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by holmstockd View Post



    Apple is guilty plain and simple.



    Next!

     

    Samsung is guilty plain and simple. They should just pay Apple the $1 billion plus fine they owe and move on.

     

    Next!

Sign In or Register to comment.