The U.S. Department of Justice presented its opening arguments in the USA v Apple Inc antitrust e-book price fixing trial on Monday. The DoJ filed suit against Apple last April, with Apple responding that the accusations are “simply not true”.
According to AllThingsD, Justice Department attorney Lawrence Buterman presented the government’s case this morning, using a slideshow filled with email and phone record evidence that the government says shows Apple colluded with book publishers to drive up the cost of e-books ahead of the launch of the iBookstore.
Apple’s lead attorney has responded to the charges by claiming that the company was using the same strategy it used to build the iTunes Music Store while negotiating with book publishers.
Apple’s opening statement […] tried to pull the rug out from under everything the DOJ had just presented. [Apple SVP Eddy] Cue, Snyder claims, was just trying to break into a crowded e-book market (one dominated by Amazon) using precisely the same approach he used when he got the company into the music market with iTunes and the applications market with the App Store. Those innovation poured billions of dollars into the U.S. economy, he said. “Apple should be applauded, not condemned.”
Apple Senior VP Eddy Cue was responsible for much of the email and phone traffic mentioned in the government’s opening arguments. Cue is expected to testify on June 13th.
