Was the DOJ out to lunch when they brought suit against Apple and five major publishing houses alleging price-fixing and collusion on setting eBook prices? After all, the major beneficiary of the suit is Amazon, a dominant force in book-selling which many hold responsible for destroying other book sellers. On the other hand, prices for […]

Anant Raut, Jun 13, 2012 The DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple and various book publishers, alleging an unlawful conspiracy to raise eBook prices,evoked a swift and visceral reaction online. Mac-o-philes the world over did a double take at their tablet screens and began posting furiously about the DOJ specifically and antitrust in general. Two things […]

Jay Himes, Meegan Hollywood, Jun 13, 2012 On April 11, 2012, media outlets exploded with the news that the Department of Justice had filed a civil antitrust case against Apple and five of the six largest publishing companies in the United States for illegally conspiring to fix eBook prices. The DOJ’s complaint alleged that HarperCollins, […]

Chris Sagers, Jun 13, 2012 I think United States v. Apple, the so-called “e-Books case” pending in the Southern District of New York, is an excellent case for the government (the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division “DOJ”), put together by an exceptional team of government enforcers, and I think the defendants that remain in the case […]

Steven Semeraro, Jun 13, 2012 The U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (“Division”), has filed a high profile case against Apple and several large book publishers (“Complaint”). The case alleges that the defendants agreed to change the way eBooks were sold. Traditionally, publishers followed the wholesale model, selling books outright-both “e” and traditional-to booksellers who […]

Mark Katz, Steve Szentesi, Jun 13, 2012 Shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed its claim in the eBooks case earlier this year, Canadian class action plaintiffs followed suit by commencing their own proceedings in the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. As in the United States, the Canadian actions are challenging […]