By Daily Mail Reporter PUBLISHED: 10:36 EST, 10 July 2013 | UPDATED: 04:12 EST, 11 July 2013 Tech giant Apple conspired with publishers to raise electronic book prices, a US judge has ruled Apple was found guilty yesterday of conspiring with publishers to increase the price of ebooks. The tech giant played a ‘central role’ in a plot to break Amazon’s price-cutting dominance of the ebook trade, a court in New York  heard yesterday. District judge Denise Cote quoted evidence from Apple founder Steve Jobs, who died in 2011, as saying he understood publishers’ concerns that Amazon’s low price for new books was eroding the perceived value of their products. He also said Apple was willing to try pricing them higher.
@highlight
U.S court ruled that Apple 'created environment' that enabled it to act with others to eliminate price competition
@highlight
Manhattan jurist, who did not determine damages, said: 'The evidence is overwhelming'
@highlight
Apple said it planned to appeal and denied an wrongdoing
'Through their conspiracy they forced @placeholder (and other resellers) to relinquish retail pricing authority and then they raised retail e-book prices,' Cote wrote.