“Five publishers agreed to pay a total of $166 million to settle their roles in a high-profile ebook price-fixing scheme,” Jeff John Roberts writes for paidContent. “For Apple, however, the price tag could be much higher in light of a damning court decision that fingered it as the conspiracy’s ringleader.”
“The publishing and tech sector is still digesting the implications of Wednesday’s 160-page decision but, according to antitrust lawyers, Apple is in a tight legal spot,” Roberts writes. “It vehemently denies wrongdoing and has fought the price-fixing accusations at all turns, in court and in the press. Now, if a verdict is entered after the damages phase of the trial, Apple is on the hook to pay special damages under a section of the Clayton Act that automatically triples antitrust awards.”
Roberts writes, “Apple’s liability, according to lawyer Jeff Friedman, will be determined by this formula: harm to consumers x 3, minus the $166 million paid by the publishers.”
Read more in the full article here.
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U.S.A. v. Apple verdict could end the book as we know it – July 11, 2013
U.S. DOJ unwittingly causes further consolidation, strengthens Amazon’s domination of ebook industry – July 11, 2013
Where’s the proof that Apple conspired with publishers on ebook pricing? – July 10, 2013
U.S.A. v. Apple ruling could allow U.S. government to monitor, interfere with future Apple negotiations – July 10, 2013
Judge Denise Cote likely wrote most of her U.S.A. v. Apple ebooks case decision before the trial – July 10, 2013
U.S.A. v. Apple: NY judge rules Apple colluded to fix ebook prices, led illegal conspiracy, violated U.S. antitrust laws – July 10, 2013
goddamned extortionists.
The government brought to you by criminals, run like a mafia cartel, telling a successful business that what they are doing is wrong. The irony is thick.
I think
“The government brought to you by criminals, run like a mafia cartel…”
Would be more accurate as:
The government brought to you by criminals, run like the Chicago mob…”
The stock plunges in 3…2…1….
Up $6 so far today…
Fine… APPLE should motion to pay the customers NOT THE GOVERNMENT the money. The govt wil realize(as does Amazon), that this will lead to a price war killing Barnes n Noble. Apple has the funds to effectively pricecut Amazon. They mite as well stop sellg Apple gear on their site as well. Let the smaller resellers get more biz and shift more to Apple Stores n Apple.com
Yes, pay the customers … Amazon has already paid enough to the government …
with the quality of Apple lawyers Apple will probably pay several more times more than triple damages …
so far Apple Legal has:
— fuked up the iPad name purchase from Proview. Thinking that China and Taiwan were the same country they thought that when apple bought Taiwan rights (for 35 k pounds) before iPad launched from Proview TAIWAN they also had the rights to China. When iPad was launched they were told they didnt have the mainland Chinese rights and Proview had them by the balls and Apple had to pay proview an extra U.S 60 million (vs the original payment of just 35k pounds) ! (Amazon made 80 million over the Christmas quarter so for a NAME they thought they already owned Apple paid near the entire worldwide quarterly profits of a major corporation. )
Chinese legal experts still laughing that Apple lawyers waved Taiwan rights as china rights and didn’t realize the two are SEPARATE COUNTRIES (like one is communist for example … )
— sued Samsung in UK and lost so badly they were told by the judge to apologize in Print. Fuked up the apology notice and the judge asked them to apologize AGAIN. (in typeface large enough specified by the judge )
— didn’t realize that legally how the in app purchase system for iOS was set up was to open them to a can of worms of lawsuits. Apple had to pay up.
— hasn’t stopped android growth anywhere in spite of Jobs assertion that they had locked down 200 patents. The few court cases they did win was so slow that bans etc were usually for devices no longer sold.
Only significant win was in the U.S were the case was probably won by the jury foreman who was an inventor himself swaying the jury. Case now under appeal. Judge has already cut the jury award in half and so far apple has not received one cent…
— lost the app store name fight with amazon
etc etc etc.
in spite of al this the head of apple legal Sewell has so much free time he’s joined the Board of Directors of Vail Resorts (a ski resort company. )( Forstall another SVP and someone so many hate said he spent weekends for years working overtime at apple as there was so much to do… ) For great performance Cook awarded Sewell 150,000 shares worth over 400 million (at the time) (probably more than a pay of a bunch of Fortune 500 CEOs )
Apple lawyers : “we think the best when skiing downslope… “.
This looks like subject matter for “Mental Floss”!
you guys voted me down but no one logically refutes what I posted and that by the high standards of the rest of apple: Apple Legal SUCKS.
if J Ive had that kind of record: four out of five of his designs would be flops and god awful ugly and the fifth would be barely passable like a Win Surface tablet….
Would Apple fans tolerate that? Yet when I criticize apple legal …
I’m an apple fan but I think Cook has straighten out legal: sssheessh with all the loses: the head having so much free time to join the board of a ski resort….
Everything you pointed out above as a legal loss for Apple happened under Steve Jobs’ turn as CEO. This decision came down while Cook was CEO, but everything that lead to it happened under and included Jobs.
so? what has your statement got to do with my post?
so who is ceo now?
can Jobs fix it?
look carefully at my post and my references to cook, all i said was:
1) cook gave Sewell a big fat bonus ( and if what you say is true all the mess I pointed out was under Jobs, then he gave the fat bonus AFTER all the disasters… )
2) as apple legal is hardly performing like the rest of apple Cook as CEO NOW should fix it.
My only error was that 150,000 shares was equal to 60 million not 400 million (which is the total of ALL the SVPs. )
so Bizlaw are you saying that apple legal is performing like Ive and the rest of apple?
(you are pleased at how it’s stopped android in its tracks, that in UK Samsung products are banned and samsung has to apologize, and apple won the DOJ nonsense case… oh no it’s not like that is it?)
completely baffles me that you guys downrate my post and yet can’t rebuff what I said.
so you guys LIKE apple legal floundering around like that?
look again at the Proview mess, BESIDES all that I pointed out in my first post NOTE:
— China is the second largest market for apple and growing fast, Apple makes billions there AND apple only has a HANDFUL of products yet Legal can Fuk up iPad name (one of the 4 hardware cornerstones of Apple today, the others are iPhone, Mac, iPod) They can’t get that registered properly ?????????????
@bizlaw
yesterday when I first briefly mentioned Proview mess you said apple wasn’t at fault that it couldn’t be helped..
seriously looking at my argument you still believe that?
Nobody at apple screwed up over the iPad name in China, 60 million for a name? (near equal to amazons Christmas profits?)
The real irony here is that this type of case is supposed to be used to stop a monopoly. When in fact they are helping to strengthen one by trying to weaken the only competition to the ebook monopoly known as Amazon.
We are no longer in the Age of Reason. We are in the Age of Feelings, which is equivalent to saying that we are in the Age of Irrationality. Over the past 10 years or so, this has been more and more reflected in our government, and in the electorate who chose that government.
Or Apple could come out with a dedicated e-reader themselves, make it better than the Kindle and sell it for less.
http://live.wsj.com/video/opinion-is-apple-really-guilty-of-collusion-2013-07-11-131155759/F4E2E214-E091-4954-95A0-110399C177FE.html#!F4E2E214-E091-4954-95A0-110399C177FE
I’m on a roll.
This must be the ONLY WSJ story (that I have ever seen) that does not disparage Apple.
Hate the WSJ….normally.
Meanwhile, the banks are charging usurious, but legal, interest rates on credit cards. Pffft.
Forget about competing with Amazon on e-books. Instead, set up a subsidiary company of Apple called Damson….a small purple-black plumlike fruit…..and let this company sell everything Amazon sells but discount everything to a few percent below Amazon prices. At the same time do it way better than Amazon.
So given that “harm to consumers” was zero, that x 3 is still $0, and that -$166 million already paid… that should be a $166 million dollar windfall for Apple, right? 🙂
Land of free enterprise?
I’m going to shit bricks if Apple’s stock price goes up significantly while this is going on.