Apple's Closing Arguments Concludes E-Book Price Fixing Trial

ibooks iconAfter slightly more than two weeks of litigation, USA v. Apple, Inc. concluded with closing arguments from Apple and the Department of Justice.

AllThingsD reports that Orin Snyder, Apple's lead counsel, closed out the trial with a slick Keynote presentation, as the company's lawyers have been doing throughout the trial.

At one point, the PowerPoint presentation the Government's lawyers were using failed to play audio, with the Judge noting that they weren't using a Mac.

"Apple did not conspire with a single publisher to fix prices in the e-book industry," Snyder said, arguing that the negotiations under scrutiny in this case were nothing more than "standard, lawful business activity." And the DOJ’s claim that they were more than that, a nefarious plot over which Apple served as ringmaster, is entirely unsupported. "All of the government’s evidence is ambiguous at best," Snyder argued, lambasting the DOJ’s case as one built on "word games and inferences."


Snyder's final slide shows an iPad with the text "It's time to close the book on this case".

The Department of Justice has argued that Apple was the "ringmaster" of a scheme to raise e-book pricing across the industry. The government says Apple convinced publishing companies to work together to set pricing above the $9.99 price point that Amazon was selling books at before the iPad came out. The DOJ's slide deck is available from AllThingsD as well.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote is expected to have a final judgement within a few weeks. Both sides agreed to have a judge hear and decide on the case rather than present it to a jury.

Popular Stories

Apple Wallet ID Illinois

Apple Plans to Expand iPhone Driver's Licenses to These 7 U.S. States

Wednesday December 24, 2025 8:40 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
maxresdefault

10 Mac Apps Worth Trying in 2026

Wednesday December 24, 2025 9:27 am PST by
2026 is almost upon us, and a new year is a good time to try out some new apps. We've rounded up 10 excellent Mac apps that are worth checking out. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Alt-Tab (Free) - Alt-Tab brings a Windows-style alt + tab thumbnail preview option to the Mac. You can see a full window preview of open apps and app windows. One Thing (Free) -...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Monday December 22, 2025 8:47 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple released iOS 26.2, following more than a month of beta testing. It is a big update, with many new features and changes for iPhones. iOS 26.2 adds a Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics in Apple Music, and more. Below, we have highlighted a total of eight new features. Liquid Glass Slider on Lock Screen A new slider in the Lock...
airpods color prototypes

Apple Tested AirPods in Bright Colors

Saturday December 27, 2025 6:06 am PST by
Apple reportedly tested a version of the first-generation AirPods with bright, iPhone 5c-like colored charging cases. The images, shared by the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami," claim to show first-generation AirPods prototypes with pink and yellow exterior casings. The interior of the charging case and the earbuds themselves remain white. They seem close to some...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Why Apple's Foldable iPhone May Be Smaller Than Expected

Tuesday December 23, 2025 5:21 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone, rumored for release next year, may turn out to be smaller than most people imagine, if a recent report is anything to go by. According to The Information, the outer display on the book-style device will measure just 5.3 inches – that's smaller than the 5.4-inch screen on the ‌iPhone‌ mini, a line Apple discontinued in 2022 due to poor sales. The report has led ...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent Search

Samsung Developing 'Wide Fold' With iPhone Fold-Like Design Ahead of Apple's 2026 Launch

Tuesday December 23, 2025 11:55 am PST by
Samsung is working on a new foldable smartphone that's wider and shorter than the models that it's released before, according to Korean news site ETNews. The "Wide Fold" will compete with Apple's iPhone Fold that's set to launch in September 2026. Samsung's existing Galaxy Z Fold7 display is 6.5 inches when closed, and 8 inches when open, with a 21:9 aspect ratio when folded and a 20:18...
iPhone SE Cosmopolitan Clean

Apple Discontinued These 25 Products This Year

Wednesday December 24, 2025 7:24 am PST by
With the end of 2025 near, the time has come to look back at the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Most of the products that were discontinued this year were simply replaced by a new model with an updated chip. However, the iPhone SE line was entirely discontinued when the iPhone 16e launched, and the iPhone Plus line is being phased out. Below, we have...

Top Rated Comments

AZREOSpecialist Avatar
163 months ago
I love how our DOJ has time to waste suing Apple over something it never did, yet apparently does nothing when voters have to wait in line for 8 hours in Florida to cast a ballot, when states try to change voter registration rules two months before a national election and then try to eliminate early voting or limit the voting hours, when some states are trying to change how the electoral college votes are awarded from those states, when legislatures across the country are gerrymandering districts in a way to ensure that the popular vote won't decide the winner of an election.

Where is the DOJ when it comes to enforcing the ADA and FCC rules against companies like Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Vudu and others who resist making closed captions or subtitles available for those who are deaf or hearing impaired? There are so many things that the DOJ should be focusing on, and Apple is not one of them. This is the most ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars I've witnessed since the $400 Pentagon toilet seat.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiRez Avatar
163 months ago
It's mind-boggling how this case was ever brought. DOJ seems completely inept and clearly didn't do their research on this, didn't even understand what they were suing over.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SamGabbay Avatar
163 months ago
Love how it's embedded in flash

:rolleyes:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mak47 Avatar
163 months ago
I've read every piece of legal document available to the public and it is crystal clear that Apple (as much as I enjoy their products) conspired with the big publishers to increase e-book prices in a strategy to make amazon "play nice".
Nobody in their right mind can deny those facts exist.

I'm quite certainly in my right mind, and my friend, those facts don't exist.

It appears to me that Apple, understanding a dissatisfaction with the status quo on the part of the publishers, made a move to jump into the ebooks market in a powerful way.

That is not illegal, nor is it even immoral by any reasonable person's measure.

The publishers were dissatisfied with Amazon's $9.99 model to begin with. They were pursuing a strategy that would essentially have killed Amazon by refusing to offer top quality new releases in the ebook format at all. Barnes & Noble was pursuing an agency model with the publishers before Apple even entered the conversation.

The fact is that content creators (the publishers) were no longer interested in Amazon's model. Ebooks did not have the market power in 2009 that they do today. They would have killed the $9.99 price point no matter what.

Apple stepping in to support the (already in development) agency model simply gave the publishers a better alternative. Now instead of windowing their high profile titles, they could release them at a price point they were comfortable with in all formats.

Apple did not require that the publishers stop doing business with Amazon. They didn't require that Amazon stop selling ebooks for $9.99, or dictate the price that publishers could sell to other retailers. They simply said they wanted equal pricing so they could remain competitive.

In the end, the publishers told Amazon they were no longer interested in their model--which they were going to do anyway, in one form or another. Amazon chose to remain in the ebooks market and agreed to pay the prices the content creators were asking. This is not collusion, it is not conspiracy and it is not illegal.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iWatch Avatar
163 months ago
Only a hardcore "fanboy" would think apple did absolutely nothing wrong here.
They obviously conspired with the big publishers at driving up the e-book prices in such a manner that Amazon would either have to sign a new contract or be blacklisted by the major publishers.

That is illegal.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MartiNZ Avatar
163 months ago
Love how the Calendar shots have the stitched leather .. this wasn't done in Mavericks :D.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)