Apple settles for $400m in e-book price fixing lawsuit
Apple will not fight a $400m federal lawsuit from 33 US states claiming the Californian giant artificially inflated the cost of e-books.
Apple's iBooks store competes with Amazon's Kindle
The US's biggest company, who settled in court, won't pay the fine until its appeal has concluded.
It is accused of conspiring with book publishers to fix book prices in a bid to curtail Amazon in an e-book discount war.
The iPhone manufacturer was served a federal lawsuit from the US department of justice after an investigation into the company’s actions.
The settlement will see Apple, who has admitted no guilt, pay $400m plus another $20m to the 33 US states involved in the lawsuit. This figure could drop considerably on appeal.
Eric Schneiderman, New York state attorney general said: "In a major victory, our settlement has the potential to result in Apple paying hundreds of millions of dollars to consumers to compensate them for paying unlawfully inflated E-book prices.
"We will continue to work with our colleagues in other states to ensure that all companies compete fairly with the knowledge that no one is above the law."
The antitrust suit which was filed in April 2012 claimed that Apple executives would often meet with members of the United States’ five largest publishers in New York.
A statement from Apple said: “[We] did not conspire to fix e-book pricing, and we will continue to fight those allegations on appeal. We did nothing wrong and we believe a fair assessment of the facts will show it.
“The iBooks Store has been good for consumers and the publishing industry as a whole, from well-known authors to first time novelists. As we wait for the court to hear our appeals, we have agreed to a settlement which is contingent on the outcome of the appeal.
It added: “If we are vindicated by the appeals court, no settlement will be paid.”
Apple, who earlier this week announced a landmark deal with former rival IBM, settled in court despite the accused publishers reaching agreements outside of court.