Apple Appeals E-Book Antitrust Ruling

Apple has filed an appeal to the ruling in its e-book antitrust case that discovered Apple had worked with publishers to adjust prices in order to benefit Apple while hurting competitors.

Apple Appeals E-Book Antitrust RulingThe appeal was filed with the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York and it alleges that the ruling was incorrect as it is not how anti-trust cases should be handled. Based upon Apple’s complaints since the ruling went into effect, the company is particularly unhappy with the appointment of an external monitor who is supposed to have access to Apple’s records and its employees.

An investigation by the US Justice Department led to a lawsuit against Apple in April 2012. Along with going after Apple, five of the six largest book publishers were also sued, but eventually settled, resulting in Apple having to fight in court.

After a hard fought battle in court, Judge Denise Koh ruled in July 2013 that Apple was guilty of conspiring with the book publishers with primary intent of undermining Amazon’s control of the e-book market. As a result, Koh agreed with the Justice Department’s suggestions in ordering that Apple’s connections with the publishers be restricted and monitored. While some of those initial requirements have since been lessened, Apple is still carefully watched by a court-appointed monitor.

The 75-page filing states that the entrance of Apple into the e-book market actually helped the industry, as it “kick-started competition in a highly concentrated market, delivering higher output, lower price levels, and accelerated innovation.” This argument is just one of many that Apple makes during the filing, though in general, the tech giant suggests that what it did was not nearly as bad as Judge Koh had ruled.

As one of the few punishments that Apple is dealing with is the court-appointed monitor, Apple has requested in its filing that he be suspended from his work pending the appeal. This request is based on Apple’s opinion that the monitor is not something that should even be considered in this sort of anti-trust case.

Summary: Apple has filed an appeal to the July 2013 ruling in its e-book antitrust case. The filing specifically requests the suspension of a court-appointed monitor pending the appeal.

Image Credit: dailytech