James Delahunty
23 May 2012 19:28
Apple comes out swinging at DoJ.
It is rejecting U.S. government charges that it colluded with several publishers to thwart Amazon.com's influence in the emerging e-book market, and to raise the prices of content.
Apple defended itself in a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Tuesday. It argues that its entry into the market was good for competition, and that the actions of the Justice Department are fundamentally flawed and pose a danger to the market.
"Apple's entry into e-book distribution is classic procompetitive conduct," the court filing read. "For Apple to be subject to hindsight legal attack for a business strategy well-recognized as perfectly proper sends the wrong message to the market. The government's complaint against Apple is fundamentally flawed as a matter of fact and law."
Amazon has been selling e-books for some time now, priced around $9.99. The Justice Department has quoted the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as saying he wanted to give publishers the ability to boost prices and "create a real mainstream e-books market at $12.99 and $14.99."
Apple claims that the government did not "accurately characterize" Jobs' comment. Two publishers - Macmillan and Penguin Group - have also opted not to settle the case.