Via FindLaw: “Apple has responded to the United States’ antitrust complaint arising out of supposed collusion between Apple and book publishers to fix the price of e-books appearing on Apple’s iBooks store. The tech company calls the complaint “fundamentally flawed,” arguing that Apple’s entry into the marketplace actually broke Amazon’s de facto monopoly on e-books.”
Via Fortune, see United States of Amerca v. Apple Inc. et al., Case 1:12-cv-02826-UA, Filed 04/11/12, USDC SD NY. and Apple’s response, Case 1:12-cv-02826-DLC Document 54 Filed 05/22/12: “The Government sides with monopoly, rather than competition, in bringing this case. The Government starts from the false premise that an eBooks market was characterized by robust price competition prior to Apples entry. This ignores a simple and incontrovertible fact: before 2010, there was no real competition, there was only Amazon. At the time Apple entered the market, Amazon sold nearly nine out of every ten eBooks, and its power over price and product selection was nearly absolute. Apples entry spurred tremendous growth in eBook titles, range and variety of offerings, sales, and improved quality of the eBook reading experience. This is evidence of a dynamic, competitive market. These inconvenient facts are ignored in the Complaint. Instead, the Government focuses on increased prices for a handful of titles. The Complaint does not allege that all eBook prices, or even most eBook prices, increased after Apple entered the market. The Government alleges that Apple conspired to eliminate retail price competition. This is absurd. Nothing Apple did reduced competition or fixed prices…”
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