(Telecompaper) Apple has lost a case brought by the US government and 33 state attorneys general in April 2012 which accused the company of fixing the price of e-books with five publishers to compete against market leader Amazon. US District Judge Denise Cote ruled that Apple played a central role in the scheme. The publishers have already settled with the department of justice. Bloomberg writes that Apple will be ordered to stop the practice and may have to pay treble damages for overcharging customers under the state government's suits. The federal government is not seeking damages. Apple insisted that it did not conspire to fix e-book pricing and said it would appeal the decision.