States: Apple Should Pay $840 Million Over E-Books

Look out Apple, all those e-book customers you screwed over are out for blood. Thanks to Ocean for the heads up.

The plaintiffs say they’re entitled to triple damages under antitrust law because the U.S. had already “conclusively proven” at a trial last year that Apple orchestrated a conspiracy to fix prices. The amount sought is 0.5 percent of the $158.8 billion in cash that the Cupertino, California-based company reported that it had as of the end of 2013.

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But... but... but... Microsoft is worse! Because, uhm. They're not Apple!

Day by day the iFanboys are running out of legitimate talking points. I'm loving this.

I'm happy I was smart enough to get out away from iTunes and Apple before this happened. I'm annoyed that many books I might have liked weren't available on Kindle because of this. I purchased >50 ebooks over the time period in question. If I had been an Apple customer, I might have bought more, and paid way too much for them.

I love Apple hardware and integration but I have always disliked most of their pricing.

Meh, someone will step in and say they don't have to pay.

Did apple force them to purchase the ebooks from iTunes?
I can see it being an issue if iTunes was THE only source to get books, but you can buy a physical copy, borrow from your library, or get it from amazon or Barnes and noble.

Zepher said:

Did apple force them to purchase the ebooks from iTunes?
I can see it being an issue if iTunes was THE only source to get books, but you can buy a physical copy, borrow from your library, or get it from amazon or Barnes and noble.

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RTFA.

It was an issue because Apple forced all publishers to fix the prices across all services.

How about we just make Apple pay all the taxes they're dodging and cut the rest of us a tax break?

techrat said:

RTFA.

It was an issue because Apple forced all publishers to fix the prices across all services.

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No, apple did not, did you not read the article .
Apple requested the Agency Model, the publishers agreed, then the publishers themselves conspired together to choose the selling price of ebooks.

That's like me getting a contract with 5 companies to sell something at a certain price, and then those companies deciding to get together and sell to other vendors at my higher price, why would should I get sued? Because I gave them the idea?

Zepher said:

No, apple did not, did you not read the article .
Apple requested the Agency Model, the publishers agreed, then the publishers themselves conspired together to choose the selling price of ebooks.

That's like me getting a contract with 5 companies to sell something at a certain price, and then those companies deciding to get together and sell to other vendors at my higher price, why would should I get sued? Because I gave them the idea?

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Sorry, apple saw a situation where a market existed that was priced according to market forces. Both e-books and paper. You had Amazon selling some titles at a loss, and wal-mart selling some titles at a loss. Both outlets thought that $9.99 for a hardcover was a good price and were attempting to affect a change to the market by absorbing the loss and applying downward market pressure.

The publishers wanted higher prices, but with the existing market they could not enforce that as being shut out of existing outlets would be as (or more) harmful than the existing cut rate price on limited titles. Apple came along and said we get a cut of everything sold through us, and it's pretty large, but compared to amazon nobody sells much in the way f e-books. So they said hey, we have a bajillion devices out there and a solid distribution channel, so lets get together and collude on prices. Amazon will either pay, or you will shut them out of the ebook market and everyone will have to come to us. Either way, we get a cut of higher prices.

It's called collusion, and they got smacked as they deserved to be. Especially when they then followed up with not permitting sales via any apps for things that competed with what they sold. So I could buy an end table without issue, but I couldn't buy a kindle or nook e-book.

I own a few apple products, but they deserved to get smacked here, just like they did not deserve to have a patent on rounded corners.

SGA76 said:

How about we just make Apple pay all the taxes they're dodging and cut the rest of us a tax break?

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Apple is different than what company in this regard?

They need to be hit so hard that they would never be willing to take that risk again.

Simple as that.

TechLarry said:

Apple is different than what company in this regard?

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He is right, they have billions in un-taxed dollars they have dodged buy keeping the money to overseas.

Freebo said:

He is right, they have billions in un-taxed dollars they have legally avoided by keeping the money to overseas.

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There, corrected that for you ... the tax laws are definitely bogus but they are the law ... we should make the politicians change them ... any company who paid those taxes that they are under no LEGAL obligation to pay would be promptly sued by their shareholders (and rightfully so)

As to the damages, I didn't agree with the verdict but as long as the money goes to the consumers and not the state governments I don't see the harm in the damages (as long as it is offered in credits to buy books, like the other settlements from the publishers were)

Zepher said:

No, apple did not, did you not read the article .
Apple requested the Agency Model, the publishers agreed, then the publishers themselves conspired together to choose the selling price of ebooks.

That's like me getting a contract with 5 companies to sell something at a certain price, and then those companies deciding to get together and sell to other vendors at my higher price, why would should I get sued? Because I gave them the idea?

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Exactly. Apple gives publishers the option to set their own prices and now they're in trouble?

Guess its time to start suing Valve because Steam allows publishers to set their own prices instead of being forced to abide by some artificially enforced and unsustainable pricing model.

Some of you overlook one thing

U.S. had already “conclusively proven” at a trial last year that Apple orchestrated a conspiracy to fix prices.

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It has already been proven that Apple was responsible for the price fixing. This isn't something that has to be proven now for this amount. Apple has already been found guilty and they are now working out the cost of it.

The publishers already settled.

Steve said:

Look out Apple, all those e-book customers you screwed over are out for blood

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This isn't about consumers, they'll probably never see a dime of this money.

It's the new economy for state governments: sue a corporation with money in behalf of consumers, arrange a multi million dollar settlement, and the funds disappear in general revenues. No need to raise taxes on voters, just extort it from an evil corporation.

Notice how the article points out it's only 0.5% of Apple's cash reserves? Just to be sure everyone understands that they have far too much money, and this would only be "fair" for them to pay.

Should....

nuff said!