In E-books Trial, U.S. Says Apple Conspired with Publishers

A three-week trial got under way before a federal judge in New York in a case pitting the Justice Department against the popular iPad and iPhone maker that could shine a light on the secretive Silicon Valley giant's business practices.

The trial came more than a year after the Department sued Apple and five of the largest U.S. publishing houses, accusing them of working together illegally to increase e-book prices and undo Amazon.com Inc's market control.

Orin Snyder, an attorney for Apple, described the case as "bizarre." Apple acted in its own business interests in negotiating deals with publishers in the run