Judge issues injunction against Apple in e-book case |
![]() |
![]() |
Written by Jeremy Burns |
Wednesday, 11 September 2013 09:09 AM America/New_York |
As expected, Cote’s injunction not only limits its agreements with the publishers, but it also requires an external monitor to review Apple’s antitrust compliance policies and procedures for two years. Apple’s shares rose 0.6% on Friday, as the injunction avoided the more draconian measures that the Justice Department had initially recommended, one that could have affected the tech giant’s supplier agreements of other media, including music, movies and TV shows. Cote’s judgment will last for five years, but can be extended in one-year increments if deemed necessary. “Consumers will continue to benefit from lower e-book prices as a result of the department's enforcement action to restore competition in this important industry,” Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer said in a statement on behalf of the Justice Department. Apple said it would appeal the injunction. “Apple did not conspire to fix e-book pricing,” said
company spokesman Tom Neumayr. “The iBookstore gave customers more choice and
injected much-needed innovation and competition into the market.” |