The Justice Department is considering a possible case of monopoly by Apple

Apple has become directly involved in an investigation the Department of Justice United States is taking place today. Apparently, there is sufficient evidence that Apple agreed to fix prices of books in iTunes Store with five major publishers. These publishers, Penguin, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and Hachette Penguin, also are involved in the investigation that the department is undertaking.

This bad business practice would hurt Apple's direct competitors such as Amazon, which would be forced to raise prices for their eBooks. However, a spokesman for the Cupertino company has stepped forward to defend their position. And according to Apple, as it allows developers to set prices for their applications, publishers are allowed to price their books on iBooks.

Apple and publishers involved will have to demonstrate that they were now conducting monopolistic practices.