The figure is in for how much Apple Inc might have to pay to consumers to settle charges of conspiring with publishers to raise e-book prices: US$400 million.
Apple last month agreed to settle a class action brought by US attorneys general in 33 states. They had sought hundreds of millions of US dollars in damages from Apple, claiming it had colluded with book publishers to inflate e-book prices. The class action was certified after Apple lost an antitrust suit brought by the US Justice Department in 2012.
The government had accused Apple of working with the publishers to raise prices of e-books so they could break free from the uniform US$9.99 pricing that Amazon had set for new e-book releases.
The amount Apple would actually have to pay in the class action depends on the outcome of Apple’s appeal in the antitrust suit. If Apple wins the appeal, it could pay nothing.
Five major publishers, including Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins, had also been named in the government’s antitrust suit, but they settled before the trial. The judge presiding over the case, Denise Cote of the US District Court in Manhattan, rendered a guilty verdict last summer.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Wednesday that the settlement reached with Apple was a victory for consumers.
“This settlement proves that even the biggest, most powerful companies in the world must play by the same rules as everyone else,” he said in a statement. “In a major victory, our settlement has the potential to result in Apple paying hundreds of millions of dollars to consumers to compensate them for paying unlawfully inflated e-book prices. We will continue to work with our colleagues in other states to ensure that all companies compete fairly with the knowledge that no one is above the law.”
Apple, in a statement, maintained its innocence and said it was still fighting the accusations through the appeal.
“We did nothing wrong and we believe a fair assessment of the facts will show it,” Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said.
“The iBooks Store has been good for consumers and the publishing industry as a whole, from well-known authors to first-time novelists. As we wait for the court to hear our appeal, we have agreed to a settlement, which is contingent on the outcome of the appeal. If we are vindicated by the appeals court, no settlement will be paid,” she added.
Meanwhile, the publishing industry continues to feel pressure from Amazon, which is by far the biggest retailer in e-books.
The latest struggle between publishers and Amazon became public in May. Amazon had sought concessions on book sales from Hachette, the fourth-largest publisher, which the publisher was unwilling to give. So Amazon sought to get its way by delaying delivery of Hachette books.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic gas stations are to fall NT$0.2 and NT$0.1 per liter respectively this week, even though international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices continued rising last week, as the US Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected drop in US commercial crude oil inventories, CPC said in a statement. Based on the company’s floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil rose 2.38 percent last week from a week earlier, it said. News that US President Donald Trump plans a “secondary