DOJ

The DOJ’s ebook price fixing trial against Apple came to an end Thursday with closing arguments from both sides. Apple lead lawyer Orin Snyder began his summation in the clearest possible terms: “Apple did not conspire to fix prices with any publisher. Let me repeat that. Apple did not conspire with a single publisher to fix prices in the eBook industry.” Rather, Snyder said near the end of his presentation, “Apple’s entry simply crystallized market forces and structural changes that were well underway before Apple met with a single publisher.” He argued, “We know of no other case where a defendant has […]

Just after 2:30 PM on Wednesday afternoon Apple rested its case in the ebook price-fixing trial. Expert witnesses Michelle Burtils and Kevin Murphy, as well as head of the iBookstore Robert McDonald, completed their testimony and closing arguments will take place Thursday. As previously reported, the government and Apple are each allotted two and a half hours each to make concluding remarks (and answer any final questions Judge Cote has.) Different accounts over Apple’s ebook market share continued as McDonald disagreed with Eddy Cue. His written testimony, which he stood by, indicates, “While it is difficult to obtain definitive information on […]

Sandwiched between the concluding testimony of one of the defense’s expert witnesses and the initial testimony of a second expert for Apple was Barnes & Noble’s vp, digital content Theresa Horner. As a witness for Apple, she was called to show that the bookseller had already been contemplating alternatives to the wholesale model as early as April 2009, before they launched their ebookselling business. (Horner’s earlier deposition was introduced into court as direct testimony; what transpired Tuesday was cross-examination and redirect.) The company understood, per an internal ebook pricing document brought to attention by Apple’s Orin Snyder, that “in the […]

Apple executive Eddy Cue spent the bulk of the Monday’s court session on the witness stand again, with the government then resting its case in the late afternoon. (Apple called its first expert witness, Ben Klein, who only testified briefly before court adjourned for the day.) As was the case on Thursday, Cue did not offer much new information that would affect the price-fixing case on either side. Instead his questioning provided more Steve Jobs nostalgia, with additional tidbits on the late Apple chief’s active involvement in the creation of the iBookstore and the agency model, and further parsing of […]

The Department of Justice’s trial against Apple is set to wrap up witness testimony by the end of Wednesday, with both sides presenting closing arguments on Thursday, June 20.  Apple executive Eddy Cue is finishing up on the witness stand Monday morning (now under the questioning of Apple’s lead lawyer Orin Snyder) after which the government will rest its case.  Fortune lists those scheduled to testify for Apple, including vp, digital content at Barnes & Noble Theresa Horner; head of the iBookstore Rob McDonald and iTunes director of operations Eric Gray; and expert witnesses Michelle Burtis, Ben Klein, and Kevin […]

We have a few more documents from the Apple ebook pricing trial of interest to share, though they do not relate directly to yesterday’s testimony. No one from Barnes & Noble has testified in court yet (at one point Teresa Horner was due to be called as a defense witness). One of the threads of Apple’s argument is that publishers (including Hachette) as well as other retailers (primarily Barnes & Noble) were readying plans to move to an agency model with or without Apple — and prior to executing Apple contracts. This defense exhibit is an email from BN ceo […]