[JURIST] Apple asked [application, PDF] the US Supreme Court on Wednesday for extra time to appeal a decision which found the company had engaged in illegal “marketplace vigilantism” when it entered the e-book market. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled [opinion, PDF] in June that Apple violated the Sherman Antitrust Act when it entered into deals with five major book publishers for the iBookstore. The appeal will focus on the “per se” analysis by the appeals court judges. Apple has until October 28 to file its initial petition.

The world’s largest technology companies have faced antitrust charges in the US and internationally in recent months. In May the European Commission opened [JURIST report] an investigation into potential antitrust violations in the e-commerce market with the scope of the investigation including a number of the world’s largest technology and search companies. In April the European Commission initiated antitrust proceedings against Google [JURIST report] accusing the company of utilizing its dominant position in the search engine market to hurt competitors. In February a judge for the Northern District of California dismissed a class action suit against Google [JURIST report] for allegedly monopolizing search engines in Android phones. Last September a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California approved a settlement between federal antitrust authorities and eBay [JURIST report] over allegations that eBay agreed to not to selectively recruit and hire employees from rival companies. In June of last year Apple reached an out-of-court settlement [JURIST report] with the US Department of Justice regarding a class action lawsuit that accused the electronics company of illegally participating in a e-book price-fixing scheme.