Apple’s nearly three year legal battle over charges that it conspired with publishers to raise the price of e-books is finally coming to end.
This morning the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Apple’s appeal, which leaves the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in place. Apple will finally have to pay $450 million as part of the settlement.
The U.S. Department of Justice and Apple agreed to the $450 million settlement back in 2014 on the condition that the company wouldn’t be forced to pay until the appeals process had concluded.
Apple was accused of conspiring with five publishers — Hachette, Harper Collins, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan — of increasing e-book prices from Amazon’s standard $9.99 price up to $12.99 or $14.99 on titles. All of the publishers already paid $166 million to settle.
In its Supreme Court appeal, Apple argued that the lower court’s decision would “chill innovation and risk-taking” and contradicted the court’s precedent. The company maintained its innocence throughout the legal process saying its new pricing model actually brought overall prices down and increased competition with Amazon.
Via: Bloomberg
