Apple denies conspiracy in ebook pricing trial: “Publishers fought (us) tooth and nail”

By Laura Hazard Owen - paidContent-     Jun. 3, 2013

The Department of Justice’s trial against Apple kicked off in New York Monday. The DOJ alleges that Apple conspired with publishers to set ebook prices, while Apple argues that there was no conspiracy and that Apple was operating the way it normally does with content providers.

The Department of Justice’s ebook pricing case against Apple kicked off in federal court in New York on Monday, and is expected to last for three weeks. The DOJ accuses Apple of conspiring with book publishers to fix ebook prices for the launch of the iBookstore in 2010. All five publishers originally named in the case have settled with the government, and Apple remains the sole defendant pressing on with the trial.

The Department of Justice and Apple’s opening statements lasted for nearly the entire day, but they introduced little material that would be surprising to anybody who has been following the case since the DOJ first sued Apple and publishers in April 2012. Both parties primarily rehashed the agreements that they have been making for over a year.
More