Supreme Court upholds Apple ruling in ebooks price-fixing conspiracy

The US Supreme Court has affirmed a ruling according to which the computer tech giant, Apple, has been recognized as part of a price-fixing conspiracy for electronic books.

Affirmation of the ruling by the Supreme Court on Monday has practically cleared the way for a USD 450 million settlement to be paid by Apple, AFP reported.

The United States’ top court, however, declined without any comment to hear an appeal from the computer tech company, which lets stand a 2013 ruling by a New York federal judge.

Apple had tentatively agreed to pay out USD 450 million to compensate consumers damaged by the price-fixing, while at the same time pursuing its appeal.

In July 2013, US District Judge Denise Cote ruled that Apple was liable for conspiring with five book publishers to fix ebook prices.

A spokesperson for Apple was not immediately at hand to respond to an AFP request for comment on the decision.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice welcomed the ruling.

"Apple's liability for knowingly conspiring with book publishers to raise the prices of ebooks is settled once and for all," said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department's antitrust division, who added, "And consumers will be made whole."

The case started with a complaint filed on behalf of consumers, which accused Apple of working with five top publishers in 2009-2010 to set the prices of electronic books in what has been described as an effort by Apple to break rival Amazon's dominance of the market.

Prior to Apple's entry into the field of ebooks, the publishers of ebooks, all of whom reached separate settlements in the case, were complaining about Amazon's USD 9.99 price for most titles.

Later one, Apple and the publishers agreed on contracts that let publishers set the price of most bestsellers at USD 12.99 or USD 14.99. Apple, however, won a provision, which allowed it to match the prices of Amazon or any other retailer.

Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, had said ahead of the trial that the California-based firm would not accept the settlement, claiming that it had done nothing wrong but was merely pursuing normal business practices.

The trial focused on a six-week period in late 2009 and early 2010 during which Apple negotiated contracts with publishers ahead of its iPad launch and proposed a new and more profitable business model.

The settlement ruling calls for Apple to pay USD 400 million to consumers and USD 50 million to cover legal fees.

According to official sources, publishers have paid a total of USD 166 million for consumer redress, which brings the total amount to USD 566 million. Most consumers will receive credits, which may be applied to future ebook purchases.

The original case in 2012 was filed against Apple as well as the publishing groups Hachette Book Group USA, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster.

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