Why Apple's e-book price fixing hasn't held Amazon back

An early Amazon e-book competitor is licking its wounds this week.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) appeal of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the company played a "central role" in fixing the prices of e-books.

The court found the company and book publishers violated federal antitrust laws by fixing e-book prices at $12.99 or $14.99, which was $3 to $5 more per book than Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) was charging at the time.

That move forced Amazon…