Legal

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 […]

In a letter to Judge Cote posted to the court docket on June 12, assistant attorney general for the State of Texas David Ashton responded to Apple’s request earlier in the week — one that mirrored our own — as to what, exactly, the states want out of the ongoing trial. Ashton said the states are “well aware the Court will decide only issues of liability and injunctive relief as part of the trial, and do not seek relief different than that sought from the Department of Justice.” Mostly they want a judgment that sets them up to seek money […]

Apple executive Eddy Cue took the stand Thursday morning to answer questions about his negotiations with the five settling publishers and offer his version of how Apple came to agency model and what they expected from publishers. (As an aside, Cue too came in court attire, rather than his standard jeans and casual shirt–to be honest, the grey suit and white shirt is a much better look than his standard “dress like Steve” uniform.) Government lawyer Lawrence Buterman immediately tried to challenge Cue’s assertions that he “learned for the first time about allegations of publisher meetings, phonecalls and dinners” only “after […]