The Justice Department says todays decision means Apples liability in the price fixing case is settled once and for all, NPRs Lynn Neary reports. The Supreme Court let stand a USD 450 million settlement reached in a lower court in 2014., scpr.org cites.
All of the publishers that were named in the case have already settled with the government, paying a combined USD 166 million. In late 2014, Apple settled a class-action lawsuit over e-book pricing that had been brought by consumers and 33 US states, but the payments in that case were predicated upon the outcome of Apples appeal of the federal antitrust case. This recent rejection by the Supreme Court triggers Apples payment of some USD 400 million to people who bought e-books.
Most e-book purchasers will receive reimbursement for the higher prices Apples conduct caused them to pay through automatic credits at their e-book retailers, the Justice Department says. They will be able to apply these credits to future purchases., the source cites.
The cases roots date back to 2010, when Apple sold its first iPad models and sought to compete with e-books company Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble (both companies had already released their own e-book devices). Apple also launched an e-book marketplace for the iPad — and it was found to have conspired with five large book publishers to set prices that were higher than Amazons.
Back in 2013, NPR reported that Apples CEO Steve Jobs had been found to have sent an e-mail to News Corp. executive James Murdoch, urging the participation of News Corp. property HarperCollins, including this line: Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at USD 12.99 and USD 14.99., the source cites.
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