Judge Cites Jobs’ Words in Ruling That Apple Inc. (AAPL) Conspired to Raise e-Book Prices

Cote said damages could be determined at a later point, though she did not immediately schedule a trial on them.

The state attorneys general are seeking unspecified damages. The federal government is seeking an order that Apple be banned for two years from agreements that let publishers rather than retailers set prices and that the company be prohibited from future antitrust law violations. The Justice Department also is asking Apple to establish an antitrust compliance program and antitrust training for executives and to put in place an independent monitoring trustee.

The trial had featured testimony from executives for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), publishers and Seattle-based Amazon.com. Witnesses from the publishing industry conceded that they were disappointed that Amazon.com was selling e-books so inexpensively when Apple came along in late 2009 with plans for its e-book store.

“Through their conspiracy they forced Amazon (and other resellers) to relinquish retail pricing authority and then they raised retail e-book prices,” Cote wrote. “Those higher prices were not the result of regular market forces but of a scheme in which Apple was a full participant.”

The article Judge Cites Jobs’ Words in Ruling That Apple Conspired to Raise e-Book Prices originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Associated Press.

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