Nebraska Takes a Bite out of Apple E-book Price Fixing

LINCOLN – Attorney General Jon Bruning today announced a federal court found Apple Inc. unlawfully conspired with major U.S. publishers to raise the prices of electronic books. In a ruling issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Apple’s role in an E-books price-fixing scheme was found to violate antitrust laws. 
“Nebraskans deserve to be treated fairly when purchasing products,” said Bruning. “Today’s ruling is a tremendous victory for Nebraska consumers.”   The court’s order was issued after a three-week civil antitrust trial before Judge Denise Cote, which began June 3 and ended June 20. The trial did not address the issue of monetary damages, which will be the subject of a future proceeding. 
The court found Apple “played a central role in facilitating and executing” the conspiracy to raise E-book prices. In addition, “Apple’s orchestration” of the conspiracy was necessary to its success. 
The five publishers involved in the case previously settled the states’ claims against them, resulting in customers nationwide receiving $166 million in compensation. The involved publishers were: Hachette Book Group Inc., HarperCollins Publishers LLC, Simon & Schuster Inc., Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC d/b/a Macmillan and Penguin Group (USA), Inc. 
Nebraska was joined by 32 other states and the U.S. Department of Justice in the litigation. Today’s ruling stems from a two-year investigation.