Apple is prepared to hand over $450 million in recompense for alleged price fixing in the sale of e-books, that is if the tech company's appeal fails to move the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.
Attorneys general in 33 states and throngs of dissatisfied consumers were seeking up to $840 million from Apple at one point, three times the original target of $240 million.
The five publishers listed along with Apple as defendants in the original lawsuit have already settled up on the matter, to the tune of $166 million, but Apple has stood behind its actions concerning its sale of e-books.
"We did nothing wrong and we believe a fair assessment of the facts will show it," Apple stated. "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."
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote ruled in favor of the Department of Justice's suit against Apple and five of the world's largest e-book publishers in 2013, who allegedly price-fixed e-books at price points well above the $9.99 benchmark set by Amazon.
"The plaintiffs have shown that the publisher defendants conspired with each other to eliminate retail price competition in order to raise e-book prices, and that Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy," stated Cote in her 2013 ruling. "Without Apple's orchestration of this conspiracy, it would not have succeeded as it did in the Spring of 2010."
The DOJ's suit was originally raised against Apple and the five publishers in 2012, with charges dating back as far as 2007. Amazon allegedly established the $9.99 e-book standard by selling the digital media at a loss in 2007, employing a "wholesale" model to move more of its Kindle e-readers and secure the lion's share of the e-book market with a 90 percent grip.
Ahead of its iPad launch in 2009, Apple allegedly colluded with five e-book publishers to devise a more profitable alternative to Amazon's wholesale model. Under the new model, the publishers would set the retail prices for their books and the distributor would assess a 30 percent commission.
"This settlement proves that even the biggest, most powerful companies in the world must play by the same rules as everyone else," said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
