Apple has secured a preliminary approval from the courts for its e-book settlement of $450 million. The class action law suit was filed against Apple on behalf of consumers and 33 states alleging that the iBooks-seller had conspired with five publishers to set e-book prices high, hurting consumers.
The case case was raised in July 2013 when the Department of Justice accused Apple of violating antitrust laws to raise prices and hurt competition with rivals like Amazon. Apple agreed to settle in June and the deal would have Apple paying $400 million to consumers and $50 million to lawyers in the ruling is upheld in appeals. If Apple wins its appeal, then it would pay nothing.
Adding another layer of legal complexity, if the appeals court overturns the Cote case but gives it a new trial, then Apple would have to pay $50 million to consumers and $20 million to lawyers.
Source: Reuters
