Cross-posted from Madisonian.net …
The District Court for the Southern District of New York today handed
down its decision in the ongoing Apple e-book antitrust litigation
holding that Apple violated antitrust law in its participation in (one
might say orchestration of) a scheme to raise retail prices of e-books
in 2009-2010 when it launched its iBookstore with the iPad. Story and
judgment available here.
And for anyone interested in the structure of the e-book industry, the
recitation of the facts re how the industry works and how Apple sought
to change the original model dominated by Amazon is very instructive and
reads not unlike a Greek drama. It’s probably the most detailed account
I’ve read explaining the distribution and price determination models
within the industry.