Earlier this month, newspapers and the internet alike were abuzz with coverage for the Apple antitrust trial, a federal court case against the California-based computer giant that accused the company of colluding with publishers to raise e-book prices and hinder Amazon.com’s stranglehold on the market. On Wednesday, the verdict in that trial was handed down, and it’s not good news for Apple.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote cited “compelling evidence” in her decision to find Apple guilty of violating federal antitrust laws. In Cote’s estimation, the company had been the central core to a conspiracy that gave publishers the power to set prices rather than retailers and other booksellers. Apple supposedly approached the five major publishing companies with a new price model that put more power in their hands, in turn raising e-book prices and giving Apple the ability to slide into the market that had previously belong almost exclusively to Amazon.

The case against Apple had been a hard-fought one for the U.S. Department of Justice, which had previously negotiated and settled out of court with the major publishing corporations. In addition, 33 different states were involved with the antitrust case, and every single one of them can now seek damages against the iPad manufacturer.

Amazon was certainly rooting against Apple in the case. The online bookseller behind the Kindle, the e-reader essentially responsible for starting the e-book and tablet craze, has surrendered a good deal of its market prominence to Apple since the introduction of the iPad. Allegedly, Apple’s deal with the publishers caused some e-book prices–mostly for best-selling titles–to jump from Amazon’s bargain-basement $9.99 charge to $12.99 or $14.99. Once Amazon lost its low-price advantage, it also saw its 90-percent market share begin to slip. And while Amazon certainly isn’t in any trouble–estimates show that the company still holds 65-percent of the e-book market–Judge Cote’s decision could be the first step to returning the e-book price model to the way it used to be.

Apple and the Department of Justice will appear before Cote once more on August 9 to discuss the verdict and possible ways to settle things. In the judge’s 159-page decision, she ordered both sides of the trial to “pursue settlement discussions” independently. Apple executives had previously refused to settle, believing the accusations to be ridiculous and their company to be innocent. That’s the story the company seems to be sticking with, as it prepares to appeal Cote’s decision.

“Apple did not conspire to fix e-book pricing,” said Tom Neumayr, a spokesman for Apple. “When we introduced the iBookstore in 2010, we gave customers more choice, injecting much needed innovation and competition into the market, breaking Amazon’s monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. We’ve done nothing wrong.”