I suppose the big publishers could take the position that they don't have to prove anything. However, the plaintiffs are going to be arguing that the Big 5 colluded with Apple in setting their prices. It certainly looks as if that is the case. The plaintiffs are also going to be arguing that the Big 5's anti-competitive practices are hurting the consumers. The plaintiffs already have pricing data to make their case, so the Big 5 and Apple better have some kind of defense.
Microsoft lost a huge anti-trust case over including a browser with their operating system, so yeah, I think the Big 5 and Apple might want to plan on defending their actions.
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