U.S. judge sets 2013 trial date for Apple e-book lawsuit

A U.S. judge on Friday set a 2013 trial date for a lawsuit from the U.S. government accusing Apple and book publishers of conspiring to fix the prices of electronic books. Following a hearing in Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote said a bench trial in the case will begin June 3, 2013, for Apple and two publishers who are fighting the antitrust charges.

…The publishers Macmillan and Penguin Group, which are respectively units of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH and Pearson Plc , are fighting the antitrust case. News Corp’s HarperCollins Publishers, CBS Corp’s Simon & Schuster and Lagardere SCA’s Hachette Book Group settled the case with the U.S. Justice Department.