--- description: Apple is set to pay $450 million to plaintiffs in 33 states, should it be found guilty of an e-book price fixing conspiracy title: Apple Set to Pay $450 Million Settlement for Price Fixing Scandal image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cd026f798158444/69869bff3bc99901ad1a48e8/173223609.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Apple Set to Pay Out $450 Million Over E-Book-Price-Fixing Scandal  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 16, 2014 7:56 PM CUT  The Apple logo is seen through a fence in front of an Apple Store on July 10, 2013 in San Francisco, California. The Apple logo is seen through a fence in front of an Apple Store on July 10, 2013 in San Francisco, California.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 16, 2014 7:56 PM CUT Apple has agreed to pay $450 million to plaintiffs in 33 states, should it be found guilty of an e-book price fixing conspiracy — but that’s a big “if.” Whether Apple pays that sum will depend on the outcome of a separate lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice, which also accuses Apple of conspiring to inflate e-book prices with several major publishers. Should that case end in a guilty verdict, Apple will pay $450 million to avert a class-action lawsuit from customers in 33 states who claim they were overcharged by the company. However, if the case is remanded to a lower court, then the settlement sum will drop to $70 million. If Apple is acquitted of any wrongdoing, the company will pay no settlement at all. “This settlement potentially provides for exceptional consumer recovery and ensures an efficient use of judicial resources,” [read](http://www.scribd.com/doc/234124488/gov-uscourts-nysd-388839-642-0 "undefined") a court document from the plaintiffs supporting the deal, first [reported](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/apple-pay-up-450-million-718993 "undefined") by the _Hollywood Reporter_. Apple was [found](http://business.time.com/2013/07/10/apple-found-guilty-in-e-book-price-fixing-conspiracy-trial/ "undefined") guilty of price-fixing by a Manhattan court last year, but the company has appealed the ruling and [maintained](http://business.time.com/2013/06/04/apple-says-its-not-an-e-book-crook-as-price-fixing-trial-begins/ "undefined") that the government has attempted to “reverse engineer a conspiracy from a market effect.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2993547/apple-set-to-pay-out-450-million-over-e-book-price-fixing-scandal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2993547/apple-set-to-pay-out-450-million-over-e-book-price-fixing-scandal/"},"headline":"Apple Set to Pay Out $450 Million Over E-Book-Price-Fixing Scandal","datePublished":"2014-07-16T19:56:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:02:47.546Z","description":"However the settlement sum could drop to zero if Apple is acquitted in a separate lawsuit","url":"https://time.com/2993547/apple-set-to-pay-out-450-million-over-e-book-price-fixing-scandal/","keywords":["Companies","Tech","Apple","e-books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cd026f798158444/69869bff3bc99901ad1a48e8/173223609.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6cd026f798158444/69869bff3bc99901ad1a48e8/173223609.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Federal Judge Rules Against Apple In EBook Price Fixing Lawsuit","caption":"Federal Judge Rules Against Apple In EBook Price Fixing Lawsuit","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2993547/apple-set-to-pay-out-450-million-over-e-book-price-fixing-scandal/","name":"Apple Set to Pay Out $450 Million Over E-Book-Price-Fixing Scandal"}}]}] ```