Judge: Apple Guilty of E-Book Price Fixing

This judge just took a bite out of Apple.

None

In one of the biggest anti-trust lawsuits in U.S. history, Apple has been found guilty of attempting to raise e-book prices in an effort to battle its nemesis: Amazon.

It came to light during the trial that executives from publishing companies and Apple would meet in the private rooms of lavish NYC resturants to complain about the $9.99 price Amazon set for its e-books, and they discussed what they could do about it. Apple wanted to raise the prices to $12.99 and $14.99, which would increase their profits substantially. "The plaintiffs have shown that the publisher defendants conspired with each other to eliminate retail price competition in order to raise e-book prices, and that Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy," said U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in her decision, which you can read here. "Without Apple's orchestration of this conspiracy, it would not have succeeded as it did in the spring of 2010."

Eddy Cue (pictured above left) was then the VP of internet software and services at Apple, and helped launched the iBookstore. Judge Cote said Steve Jobs played an influence over Cue in the conspiracy: "Cue knew that Jobs was seriously ill and that this would be one of his last opportunities to bring to life one of Jobs's visions and to demonstrate his devotion to the man who had given him the opportunity to help transform American culture," Cote said.

There will be a later trial to determine the damages of the case.

Latest in Pop Culture