Dive summary:
- On June 3, Apple will go to trial for price fixing e-books by conspiring with publishers Penguin, Macmillan, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette to force Amazon to raise prices; all five publishers have settled out of court.
- Prosecutors are saying Apple was the ring leader using an email from former CEO Steve Jobs to Newscorp's James Murdoch that read "Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99."
- Apple is denying the claims saying it helped to bring competition to Amazon who dominated the e-book market.
From the article:
"The Justice Department first brought the allegations against Apple in an April 2012 antitrust lawsuit. Prosecutors are now saying that Apple was the ringleader of the conspiracy, using the Steve Jobs email as evidence."
