Trial on E-Book Price-Fixing Puts Apple in Spotlight

Government lawyers are set to face off against Apple in a Manhattan courtroom, trying to prove that the company conspired with publishers to raise prices in the e-book market. But the evidence in the case will not just determine whether Apple has violated antitrust laws. It will also tell a broader story of how the introduction of e-books created upheaval in the publishing industry — with guest appearances by major players like Amazon and Barnes & Noble and e-mails from the late Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s former chief executive.

In the case, brought a year ago, the Justice Department accused Apple and five book publishers of conspiring to raise e-book prices. The idea, the government said, was to allow publishers to set their own prices rather than letting retailers do so. Their motivation, according to the Justice Department, was to defend themselves against Amazon, which was setting the price of most new e-books at $9.99 and becoming increasingly dominant in the market. Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and the Hachette Book Group settled the day that charges were filed; Penguin and Macmillan settled months later. Complaints by Amazon, which now controls at least 60 percent of the e-book market, are widely believed to have incited the investigation.