Apple loses final e-books antitrust appeal, will pay $450M settlement [u]

Posted:
in iPad edited November 2015
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.

iBooks


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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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 46

    Couldn't let the launch of Apple Music go without some negative news to offset it.

  • Reply 2 of 46
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member

    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.

  • Reply 3 of 46
    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."
  • Reply 4 of 46
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member

    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.

  • Reply 5 of 46
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    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.
  • Reply 6 of 46
    msanttimsantti Posts: 1,377member
    When is Amazon ever going to get probed.?

    The KING of e-books.
  • Reply 7 of 46
    rayzrayz Posts: 814member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jfc1138 View Post

     

    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.


     

    Unless they start spreading some serious lobbying cash then I'm not sure there's much point.

  • Reply 8 of 46
    agramonteagramonte Posts: 345member

    Just wasting more tax payers money by keeping this in the courts. Just like Samsung, They need to accept the fact that they are guilty and face the penalty and move on.

  • Reply 9 of 46
    jessijessi Posts: 302member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by agramonte View Post

     

    Just wasting more tax payers money by keeping this in the courts. Just like Samsung, They need to accept the fact that they are guilty and face the penalty and move on.




    Guilty of what?  Bringing competition to the previously monopoly controlled ebook market and requiring the prices to be low? 

     

    Oh, what a crime that was!

     

    Really, Apple was guilty of competing with a politically well connected company-- Amazon-- in an age where the rule of pull is what matters, not the rule of law.

  • Reply 10 of 46
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    rayz wrote: »
    Unless they start spreading some serious lobbying cash then I'm not sure there's much point.

    I think it might take more than cash. Something to do with back doors appears in my crystal ball. And I can just make out a bald-headed man laughing strangely, like a horse whinnying.
  • Reply 11 of 46
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    A gross miscarriage of justice. Meanwhile Amazon continues its near monopoly and predatory pricing while putting bookstores out of business one after the other.
  • Reply 12 of 46
    Just another Judge looking out for their pension.
  • Reply 13 of 46
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    So when does this go to the Supreme Court? Though with the court we have now I wouldn't expect them to make the right decision.
  • Reply 14 of 46
    tommikeletommikele Posts: 599member
    It just seems so ironic considering Amazon's monopolistic power in this market and how they have abused it on all fronts, but especially so to set prices and force authors and publishers to do what Amazon wants or lose their livelihood. Add that to their content manipulation and search algorithms that are manipulated to help sell what Amazon wants and punish sales of what they don't want to sell and it's just seems absurd that Apple lost this suit and Amazon got away with being the prime force behind it.
  • Reply 15 of 46
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member

    2 of these 3 judges shopped mostly at Amazon with perks. The system is broken and I don't really fucking care. Apple just pay them already and move on. Fck the US court in general.

  • Reply 16 of 46
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by agramonte View Post

     

    Just wasting more tax payers money by keeping this in the courts. Just like Samsung, They need to accept the fact that they are guilty and face the penalty and move on.


     

    Guess you will follow your own advice and go to jail for 20 years for a crime you did not commit.

  • Reply 17 of 46
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    The real winners are the lawyers and Amazon.
  • Reply 18 of 46
    jcallowsjcallows Posts: 150member

    apple:  "sure, we'll pay the fine.  just after samsung pays theirs."

  • Reply 19 of 46

    Here's the irony. It's true that Amazon, in a practical sense, has a monopoly. That's a bad thing, even if you like Amazon. As I do. It's also true that Apple did this to try to break that monopoly. A good thing. But, it's also true that the way they did it was patently illegal. You cannot read the emails admitted into evidence and not conclude that Apple and the publishers engaged in blatant, arrogant collusion. That's a bad thing, even if you like Apple. As I do.

  • Reply 20 of 46
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    rogifan wrote: »
    So when does this go to the Supreme Court? Though with the court we have now I wouldn't expect them to make the right decision.

    I know what you're thinking, but it looks like the die was cast well before the current administration, and the balance of the Supreme Court is irrelevant. It's just common sense that Amazon's personal data is more interesting than . . . well, you can finish the thought. Lesser speculation is a waste of good paranoia.
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