Amazon is
currently facing legal action over its pricing practices, with one lawsuit
filed by US residents who purchased iPhones and iPads on the platform since
January 2019. The legal action centers around the agreement Apple made with
Amazon to discount its products, on the condition that the e-commerce platform
reduced the number of third-party Apple resellers. Thus, a judge in Seattle has
ruled that Apple and Amazon will face a consumer antitrust lawsuit in a US
court.
The lawsuit
alleges the tech giants collaborated to drive up the prices of iPhones and
iPads sold through Amazon's e-commerce platform by limiting the number of
competitive resellers. Steve Berman, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, has
characterized this recent court ruling as a major victory for consumers of
Apple products. The lawsuit alleges that Apple reached an agreement with Amazon
to offer them product discounts in exchange for reducing the number of
third-party Apple resellers on the platform. Prior to this agreement, there were
approximately 600 such resellers on Amazon in 2018.
Both firms
attempted to have the case dismissed, but now face evidence-gathering and other
pretrial procedures. US residents who purchased Apple products on Amazon since
January 2019 are among the plaintiffs. İt is reported that Apple's agreement
with Amazon limited the number of authorized resellers in an effort to prevent
the sale of counterfeit Apple products. Apple's lawyers have referred to this
type of agreement as standard practice and legal and stated that the Supreme
Court and Ninth Circuit have recognized them as both procompetitive and lawful.
In an upcoming legal case, any opposing incentives related to the agreement
between Apple and Amazon will be addressed. The complaint is seeking triple
damages and other forms of relief, but no specific amount has been specified.
Sources:
https://mynexttablet.com/apple-amazon-face-antitrust-lawsuit-over-iphone-ipad-pricing/
