The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has said in a court filing that Apple conspired with publishers to increase e-book prices.
The department’s Antitrust Division filed papers for a trial, which is scheduled to start in June this 2013 in federal court in Manhattan, US.
Apple denied the allegations and said it talked with a number of publishing firms individually and drafted different agreements with each.
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the company did not conspire to fix eBook pricing.
"We helped transform the eBook market with the introduction of the iBookstore in 2010 bringing consumers an expanded selection of eBooks and delivering innovative new features," Neumayr said.
Last year, the DOJ and 15 US states sued Apple and other major book publishers for alleged price-fixing of electronic books.
All five publishers involved in the lawsuit, Hachette Book, HarperCollins Publishers, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan Publishers, and Penguin Group, have settled with the DOJ.
Last year, Apple and four other European publishers settled their EU E-Book anti trust case to avoid possible fines.
The companies agreed to allow online retailers like Amazon sell e-books at a discount for two years.
