Federal judge rules against Apple in e-books case [Live discussion]

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Apple Inc. led a conspiracy to raise the price of e-books.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote ruled against the Cupertino-based tech company after a trial in which the Department of Justice accused Apple of pressuring publishing companies to raise their prices in order to weaken rival Amazon.com.

Now, Apple is liable for civil antitrust violations.

LIVE DISCUSSION: Join us at 1:30 p.m. as we discuss the Apple ruling

Join us at 1:30 p.m. as Times’ staff writers Chris O’Brien and Andrea Chang discuss the ruling.

Before Wednesday’s rulings, five publishers -- Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan and Hachette Book Group -- had settled with the government out of court.

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