Apple $450M e-book settlement gets final court approval

NEW YORK - A U.S. judge on Friday gave final approval to Apple Inc's agreement to pay $450 million to resolve claims it harmed consumers by conspiring with five publishers to raise e-book prices.

During a hearing in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote approved what she called a "highly unusual" accord. It calls for Apple to pay $400 million to as many as 23 million consumers if the company is unsuccessful in appealing a ruling that found it liable for antitrust violations.

The $400 million comes on top of earlier settlements with five publishers in the case, which provided $166 million for e-book purchasers.

Apple agreed to the settlement in June, ahead of a damages trial set for two months later in which attorneys general in 33 states and territories and lawyers for a class of consumers were expected to seek up to $840 million.

During Friday's hearing, Cote said it was an "unusually structured settlement, especially for one arrived at on the eve of trial."

The deal allows Apple to continue to appeal Cote's July 2013 ruling that Apple had violated antitrust laws by colluding with the publishers to drive up e-book prices and impede rivals such as Amazon.com Inc.

That accord calls for Apple to pay $400 million to consumers and $50 million to lawyers if Cote's findings are upheld on appeal, and nothing if the Cupertino, California-based company wins its appeal.

If the appeals court overturns Cote and returns the case to her, perhaps for a new trial, Apple would owe $50 million to consumers and $20 million to lawyers.

While the deal was unusual, Cote said she understood why the plaintiffs decided to go with it, given delay tactics by Apple.

An Apple spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

The ruling finding Apple liable followed a non-jury trial in lawsuits filed in 2012 by the U.S. Justice Department and states attorneys general against Apple and the publishers.

The publishers include Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group Inc, News Corp's HarperCollins Publishers LLC, Penguin Group (USA) Inc, CBS Corp's Simon & Schuster Inc and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH's Macmillan.

A federal appeals court is scheduled to hear Apple's appeal Dec. 15.

The case is In Re: Electronic Books Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 11-md-02293.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Apple's Tim Cook ordered to testify in e-books case

NEW YORK - A judge on Wednesday ordered Apple's chief executive Tim Cook to testify in a case brought by the US government accusing the tech giant of conspiring to raise e-book prices.

Federal Judge Denise Cote issued the order after a teleconference with attorneys from Apple and the US Justice Department.

She said the government may take a deposition from Cook, which could be used in a trial, overruling objections from the company. The order said Cook must testify "for the reasons stated on the record at the teleconference," without elaborating.

Apple lawyers recently argued that Cook should not be compelled to testify because he was not involved in the deals with publishers led by Apple's former chief Steve Jobs before his death in 2011.

Cook "has no unique personal knowledge of relevant facts," an Apple petition said, adding that the new CEO was not discussed in any prior court filings and that at least 11 other Apple executives would be testifying.

The lawsuit filed last year accuses Apple and five publishing firms of colluding to fix prices on electronic books, to change a model developed by Amazon.

Each of the publishers settled with the government, agreeing to cease any special deals with Apple for e-books.

US officials allege the price-fixing scheme was aimed at ending a discounting effort by Amazon, which sold most e-books at $9.99 until Apple's new pricing plan was forced on the retail giant.

The move almost instantly raised the prices consumers paid for e-books to $12.99, $14.99 or higher, according to the US complaint.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

J.K. Rowling's Pottermore website to open in April

NEW YORK - Author J.K. Rowling's new Pottermore website that will allow fans to navigate the world of British boy wizard Harry Potter and shop for merchandise including e-books of the Potter adventures will open in April.

A posting on the website said the Pottermore Shop would soon welcome fans after being delayed from a planned October opening. The site's creators have been testing it and said they changed to a more "suitable" platform for the millions of expected visitors.

The posting did not say whether e-book versions of the seven "Harry Potter" novels will be available immediately.

The interactive site will let readers navigate through the stories of witchcraft and wizardry on which Rowling based her blockbuster books about the teenage wizard and his friends.

"So get ready to join the Pottermore journey - the wait is nearly over," the posting said.

source: interaksyon.com