In a filing submitted Wednesday, Apple requested a 30-day extension in order to file a writ of certiorari, a formal petition for audience before the Supreme Court.
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In April 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice, along with 33 states and territories, filed a civil antitrust suit against Apple and the five publishers “for conspiring to end e-book retailers’ freedom to compete on price by taking control of pricing from e-book retailers and substantially increasing the prices that consumers paid for e-books”. “Dynamic, disruptive entry into new or stagnant markets-the lifeblood of American economic growth-often requires the very type” of behavior in which Apple engaged.
If the original court ruling, which found Apple guilty of price-fixing, is not affirmed and the liability part of the case must be re-tried, Apple will pay $50 million to consumers, and $10 million each to the states and class counsel.
It’s the latest development in a long-running case that spans years. In return, the iPhone maker received a bigger cut of sales.
As Fortune points out, the extension request outlines much of Apple’s argument for seeking the Supreme Court’s review. However, one of the three judges on the appeals court panel dissented, noting that rule of reason applied because the results of Apple’s actions were “unambiguously and overwhelmingly procompetitive”.
When it lost its Second Circuit appeal, Apple issued a public statement arguing that while it wanted to put the case behind it, it did nothing wrong and was continuing to fight for “principles and values”.
The main target is believed to have been Amazon. Both testimonies seem to back up the notion that Apple wasn’t a ring leader in a publisher-wide price fixing conspiracy, but Judge Cote clearly didn’t see it that way.
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Apple said in its filing that at the launch of iPad, Amazon controlled nearly 90 percent of the ebook market and used its power to sell some books below cost.
