Since all the publishers involved in the e-book pricing
lawsuit have settled, Apple has become the lone target for the Department of Justice
(DOJ), which released court documents depicting the computer giant as the leader of the alleged conspiracy.
The government contends Apple and five publishers—HarperCollins
Publishers, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, and Penguin
Group—conspired to force Amazon to raise its prices from $9.99 for an e-title
through its agency pricing plan. Apple is portrayed as the driving force behind
the model that let each publisher set the e-title price instead of the traditional
wholesale pricing model, where retailers buy the title at wholesale and charge whatever
they want, even if it’s at a loss.
Government documents point to e-mails from late Apple
CEO Steve Jobs that talk about creating a market for e-books at the higher
prices and messages that suggest Apple threatened to block e-book apps from
Random House if it did not take part in the plan. The court documents also
quote Penguin CEO David Shanks as saying Apple was the “facilitator and
go-between” in arranging the agreement.
Apple paints a very different picture in its court
filings.
It said the publishers were already trying to find ways to force Amazon to
raise its e-book prices independent of Apple, that it only became involved
after approaching the publisherswith the iPad and its online bookstore, and
that it required separate and different agreements with each company.
“Early—and constant—points of negotiation and
contention were over Apple’s price caps and 30% commission,” Apple said in its
81-page findings of fact. “After Apple sent draft agency agreements to each
publisher CEO on Jan. 11, each immediately opposed Apple’s price tiers and
caps.”
Even some Mac enthusiasts are even having a hard time
buying the Apple line, in particular, MacNewsWorld columnist Chris Maxcer.
“I’m betting that Apple knew that the way forward was
to reset customer expectation on the value of an e-book at a reasonable and
stable price,” he wrote.
“This worked with music and movies. Why not with e-books, too?
“However, this price was higher than what Amazon (and
the e-book average selling price) was at the time. Effectively, Apple’s entry
raised the price of e-books for consumers—hence the gaze of the DOJ.”
The case is scheduled to go to trial on June 3.
