"filed lawsuits on behalf of their local ebook consumers."
How generous of them... I assume they will also be generous enough to keep the money so we don't have to worry it.
Apple has settled out of court with the 33 US states and territories that had been seeking up to $840m in damages for its ebook price-fixing shenanigans. The fruity firm, which was found guilty of engaging in the price-fixing conspiracy with five major book publishers in a separate trial, has always maintained its innocence …
Oh no, we are there with the 'traffic school' concept and when it was originally launched it was too popular as it was the same cost as the previous fine/points option but this time with no points on the license. It was in fact so popular it only got offered to people who were only just over the speed limit.
Now it is apparently MUCH more expensive than the fine and it is getting close to the bit where it is cheaper to accept the points and the hit on insurance premium rather than to go to 'traffic school'
Yes, because Apple is never humiliated in public, even when they apologize wrong and are forced to do it again.
It is unfortunate that Apple has taken such a draconian and hostile position of not admitting guilt or being willing to pay fines even when their guilt has been proven unequivocally.
This is a dangerous and counter productive policy, and can only lead to a situation when a successful plaintif does not accept "out of court" settlement, and nails the firm to the wall for tens of billions of $$dollars as well as gaining Court Order stopping distribution and sales of Apple's flagship products.
Only then will they realize that their insane attitudes and positions have come ack to seriously and infectiously bite them in the ass.
The key point being "outsiders".
If you've been following the case (as I have, as I'm in publishing), it's beyond obvious that several meetings were held between publishers and Apple in order to discuss what "they were going to do" about Amazon. They decided on price-fixing. It was in emails, it was in Jobs' book, it was admitted in court. READ THE TRANSCRIPT!
Of course, if you're an "outsider" who hasn't bothered to read up on the case, then I'd agree that you might not agree with Judge Cote.