Andre Yoskowitz
23 Jun 2012 17:42
This week, a U.S. judge has set the trial date for the price fixing case brought against Apple and the major book publishers by the U.S. government.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote has set the trial to begin on June 3rd, 2013.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department accused Apple and the five major publishers of colluding to jack up the price of ebooks in 2010 and take market share away from leader Amazon. Apple was launching the first generation of their iPad tablet at the time.
Amazon had been selling new release books for $9.99, but the complaints claims the publishers, at the behest of Apple, colluded to "create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99."
HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette each settled to avoid court, but Apple, Penguin and Pearson are fighting the charges.