Business

In e-books fight, NY appeals court seeks a bully

December 15, 2014 Associated Press

Amazon and Apple are in an ebook fight. AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File

Share this:

A federal appeals panel is trying to decide whether Apple Inc. or Amazon.com Inc. was the bigger bully when price wars over electronic books heated up a few years ago.

Three judges listened to arguments Monday after Apple appealed a judge’s finding. The earlier ruling concluded that the Cupertino, California, company colluded with book publishers in 2010 to raise e-book prices.

One judge questioned how unfair it was for Apple to bust Amazon.com’s one-time monopoly of the e-book market.

Other judges also found possible flaws with the case brought by the Justice Department against Apple and various publishers.

The lower-court judge appointed a monitor to review Apple’s compliance with antitrust laws. That judge also ordered the company to modify its contracts with publishers.