The Apple was found guilty of conspiring with publishers to raise the price of e-books when it launched the iPad in 2010, according to a decision released on Wednesday (10) by a judge in New York, in the United States.
"The plaintiffs showed that Apple had conspired to raise the price retailer of electronic books with several major American distributors," said Judge Denise Cote in the decision. There will be a new trial to determine the amount of the fine that the company will have to pay.
The trial began on June 3 with Apple accused of conspiring with five major publishers in the United States to raise the prices of e-books to the detriment of consumers.
The group is the one to answer for their actions before the courts, since the five publishers engaged preferred an amicable agreement with the authorities. A French Hachette, the American HarperCollins (group News Corp) and Simon & Schuster (CBS), Britain's Penguin ( Pearson) and a subsidiary of Germany's Bertelsmann, Macmillan, agreed to change its practices and pay a total of approximately $ 170 million in fines and restitution to aggrieved consumers. Apple is accused by the Justice Department of the United States to play a central role coordination in an agreement with publishers to raise the price of electronic books to prepare for the launch in 2010 of its iPad tablet. The market was then dominated by Amazon and its Kindle, released in 2007. But the online retailer had imposed a retail price of $ 9.99, which is very low by publishers. According to the indictment, Apple forced its American consumers "pay tens of millions of dollars more" for their electronic books, making prices increased to between $ 13 and $ 15.
Posts
0 comments