Dive Brief:
-
In a 2 to 1 decision, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan Tuesday upheld a 2013 district court finding that Apple Inc. conspired with publishers to set e-book pricing.
-
Apple has been subject to court-ordered corporate monitoring and has agreed to pay $450 million to e-book buyers, according to a November agreement.
-
Apple says it’s weighing its options, which could include having the court re-hear the case or bringing it to the Supreme Court.
Dive Insight:
The deal between publishers and Apple that has landed the tech giant in antitrust court was born out of a fear of Amazon’s hardcore commitment to low book prices. And yet, many now argue it’s actually Amazon that was unfairly left unscathed by the lawsuits and the rulings, and that it’s been Amazon that has been free to play hardball with publishers and stifle competition.
Many observers have scratched their heads because the Apple deal challenging Amazon’s supremacy actually brought down prices and, some say, improved quality by introducing much-needed competition to the space.
But the Justice Department and so far the courts have pushed back, saying, essentially, that collusion is an antitrust violation no matter its outcome or intent.