Quote:
Originally Posted by Apache
It is illegal when the companies conspire together to fix the price.
Apache
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So, what price did they fix it at? My understanding is that only conspiracy was that they all wanted agency pricing, not that they all wanted one particular price point. Of course, what the publishers did was never actually taken to court, nor was there any actual evidence presented in court that said that the publishers were pushing a specific price point. Lots of chest pounding, claims and victory dances by the feds in the press though. Prosecutors frequently say one thing in the press and something else entirely in court. They can say whatever they like in the press, in court, there are rules they have to follow.
The legal question that comes into play is was the actions that the publishers were accused of (getting together to insist on an agency pricing model) inherently illegal. If it isn't, then you have to prove that the consumers were harmed. Many claim that it is, yet the specific case appears no where in a law and the courts haven't ruled on that specific issue.