Yesterday, the trial between the Department of Justice and Apple began. The courtroom is closed to all technology. Personally, I find the case a bit confusing, but I figured I would do my best to give an abbreviated explanation of what is going on. Please feel free to correct me!
- Apple is being accused of making deals with major publishing houses that caused the prices of eBooks to rise. Before, eBooks were generally $9.99, as set by Amazon’s model. But now, they are roughly $11.99.
- Supposedly, some evidence could come out that would be potentially damaging to Amazon.
- This trial is important because it is showing that DOJ is taking an interest in eCommerce. While no change has been made to eBook prices yet, it is possible that there could be effects from this trial.
I’ll definitely be curious to see what the outcome of this trial is. Consumers should definitely drive the price of a product, not companies. Does the higher price prevent me from buying an eBook? No necessarily, but it does make me consider other alternatives first. I’m glad that even if the charges are proven false, at least action was taken to investigate. Definitely check out the links below for more information; it is definitely pretty interesting.
Sources/More Information:
Christian Science Monitor
Washington Post
PC World
What do you think about the case? What does it mean for the publishing industry?
Playing Jokers 