Apple files petition to overturn Supreme Court ebook price-fixing decision

2 November 2015 Books+Publishing

In the US, Apple has submitted a 35-page petition to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn a July decision to uphold Judge Denise Cote’s 2013 finding on ebook price fixing, reports Publishers Weekly. Cote previously ruled that Apple colluded with HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Macmillan and Hachette to fix ebook prices when it launched its iPad and iBookstore in the US in 2010. As in its unsuccessful Second Circuit Court of Appeals case in July, Apple attorneys claimed in the petition that its agreements should be considered under a ‘rule of reason framework’, rather than as a ‘per se’ case as Judge Cote had found. As a ‘per se’ case, the US Department of Justice only needed to prove that price-fixing occurred, and that this was presumed to be anti-competitive without accounting for the pro-competitive effects on the market. The Supreme Court is now considering whether to take the case. If the appeal is rejected, Apple will have to refund consumers US$400 million, as per their settlement deal.

Category: International news