NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge has refused to toss out lawsuits alleging that Apple Inc. and various publishers conspired to drive up the price of e-books.
Federal Judge Denise Cote (coht) in her Tuesday ruling cited statements by Apple and the late Steve Jobs to support her finding that there was sufficient evidence to put before a jury.
The U.S. government this year joined 15 states in suing Apple and publishers. The lawsuit says the defendants conspired to force e-book prices several dollars above the $9.99 price charged by Amazon.com on its Kindle device.
The judge noted that Jobs told publishers in the alleged conspiracy that “the customer pays a little more, but that’s what you want anyway.” A lawyer for Apple did not immediately respond to a message for comment.
