United States District Judge Denise Cote has ruled that Apple did indeed conspire with a group of book publishers in order to eliminate competition and set ebook prices higher, and force Amazon to do the same. This ruling came as no surprise to legal experts following the trial. And given that all of the publishers in the law suit had already settled, one cannot help but wonder why Apple insist upon going to trial anyway.
If Steve Jobs were still alive, it would be easy to imagine that his stubbornness even in the face of ridiculously long odds, would lead the company down this path. But Steve is dead and it’s time for Apple to forge a new path. Jobs did some great things, but stupid things like the ongoing legal war with Samsung and Android need to be dropped. And this misadventure will be bad for Apple both financially and in the hearts of consumers. I don’t know who Apple thought they were championing by going to trial in defense of higher ebook prices, but certainly not the average consumer.
Apple can still be a great company making cool things that empower the creative spirit in everyone. But letting Steve run the company from beyond the grave is probably not the best strategy.