Apple CEO Tim Cook Ordered to Testify in E-Books Antitrust Lawsuit

ibooks iconA U.S. District Judge has ordered Apple CEO Tim Cook to sit for a deposition in the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against the company over alleged e-book price-fixing, reports Reuters.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan granted the Justice Department's request to compel Cook to testify for four hours in the lawsuit, which accuses Apple of conspiring with five publishers to raise e-book prices.

The government had argued Cook likely had relevant information about Apple's entry into the e-books market. It also said Cook likely had conversations related to e-books with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who died in 2011.

The lawsuit was originally filed in April of 2012, and has focused on the so-called 'agency model' for pricing ebooks that Apple attempted to negotiate with a number of publishers.

The Department of Justice has settled with all of the book publishers initially accused, while Apple remains the main target of the suit.

Popular Stories

Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Brings New AppleCare+ Options to India

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:42 am PST by
Apple today announced an expansion of AppleCare+ coverage in India, with new options for monthly and annual plans, and the addition of Theft and Loss for iPhone for the first time. Options for monthly and annual AppleCare+ plans in India provide more choice and flexibility, allowing users to keep coverage for as long as they require. Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Wednesday November 19, 2025 4:00 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
ipad mini 7 feature red and blue

iPad Mini 8: Four Major New Features to Expect

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:50 am PST by
Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini is highly likely to arrive next year, offering a significant refresh of the device with at least four major new features. OLED Display The next-generation version of the iPad mini could feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple Watch in 2015, ...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16 Wi-Fi Speeds: New Study Reveals the Winner

Tuesday November 18, 2025 10:53 am PST by
A new study has revealed that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air achieve significantly faster average Wi-Fi speeds compared to the iPhone 16 series, thanks to Apple's custom-designed N1 chip. The study was conducted by Ookla, the company behind the popular Speedtest website and app. It said the results are based on global, crowdsourced Speedtest user data...
macbook black friday

The Best Early Black Friday Mac Deals

Tuesday November 18, 2025 7:32 am PST by
We're getting closer to Black Friday, which lands next week on Friday, November 28. In the lead-up to the shopping holiday, we're tracking a few lowest-ever prices on Apple's most popular Macs, including the M4 MacBook Air and brand new M5 MacBook Pro. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
Magic Keyboard Touch ID Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for 140W USB-C Power Adapter, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad

Tuesday November 18, 2025 1:05 pm PST by
Apple today released updated firmware for several accessories, including the 140W USB-C Power Adapter, the Magic Trackpad 2, the Magic Trackpad USB-C, the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad. There is no word on what's included in the updated firmware at this time, but it could offer performance improvements and security updates. Accessory...
watchos 26 workout app

Apple Watch Users Claim Workout App Is Now Worse in Every Way

Thursday November 20, 2025 7:01 am PST by
Apple Watch owners have been voicing their frustration online over changes to the Workout app that Apple introduced in watchOS 26, with many finding the redesigned interface makes starting exercises difficult and exasperating. When Apple launched watchOS 26 in September, the Workout app went from large, easily tapped workout tiles to a scrolling, corner-button interface. Instead of tapping a ...

Top Rated Comments

Rampage Dev Avatar
166 months ago
Good. It will be nice to hear Apples official opinion on the matter.

And perhaps while he is under oath they can as him for the release date for the new Mac Pro.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chupa Chupa Avatar
166 months ago
That sounds like a good use of the CEO's time.

He needs to be putting the iPhone 6 and iOS7 together, not worrying about some alleged e-book price-fixing.

Wild guess here... the plaintiff couldn't give a rat's A Tim Cook has better things to do. Clearly Judge agrees. Also it's a CEO's job to worry about every aspect of the company; that's the whole point of "chief" preceding "executive" in the title, no?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Derekuda Avatar
166 months ago
That sounds like a good use of the CEO's time.

He needs to be putting the iPhone 6 and iOS7 together, not worrying about some alleged e-book price-fixing.

Not like he's actually doing anything productive over at Apple... How much has that stock dropped? :D
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Plutonius Avatar
166 months ago
Heck. THE HOBBIT, an old book, is 9.99. You can find paperback versions of this book for a couple dollars.
also: LOTR box set (including box for all 3 books). $18.80 in paperback. Kindle price of 29.99 *BUT WAIT, BUY NOW THIS CAN BE HAD FOR A LOW LOW PRICE OF 24.99!
Hmm, I was thinking of getting the Hobbit for my Kindle so I just checked Amazon when you said it was $24.99. The kindle version is listed for $7.29 (not $24.99) and is cheaper then the paper version.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Hobbit-ebook/dp/B0079KT81G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363208709&sr=1-1&keywords=the+hobbit
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gasu E. Avatar
166 months ago
That sounds like a good use of the CEO's time.

He needs to be putting the iPhone 6 and iOS7 together, not worrying about some alleged e-book price-fixing.

Perhaps you might become just a bit more familiar with the duties of a corporate CEO.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lunaoso Avatar
166 months ago
I really hope they are all told to lower ebook prices because in most cases the printed book is around 5 dollars cheaper.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)