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Apple a victim of price fixing - November 12, 2008

OK, it was illegal, but you still almost have to be impressed with Sharp Corp. for putting over a price-fixing conspiracy on Apple. Between September 2005 and December 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Anti-Trust Division, Sharp engaged in a scheme with an unnamed co-conspirator to fix prices on thin-film LCD screens sold to Apple for use in iPods. Other victims of the conspiracy included Dell and Motorola, which bought the jacked up screens for their laptops and Razr cell phones, respectively.

Sharp agreed to plead guilty to the conspiracy charges, according to a statement issued today by the Justice Dept. and to pay a fine of $120 million. But really, how often do you see Apple get screwed in a deal? Even an illegal one.

Sharp was one of three LCD makers nabbed by the feds for fixing prices between 2001 and 2006. The others were LG Display Corp. and Chungwa Picture Tubes, who were charged in a separate group of conpiracies from Sharp's and agreed to pay fines of $400 million and $65 million, respectively.

"These price-fixing conspiracies affected millions of American consumers who use computers, cell phones and numerous other household electronics every day," Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division Thomas O. Barnett said in the statement announcing the guilty pleas. "These convictions, and the significant fines they carry, should send a clear message that the Antitrust Division will vigorously investigate and prosecute illegal cartels, regardless of where they are located."
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