Double Whammy for Apple as U.S. Court Allows Trial for Damage for ebook Prices, ITC Ban on Import of iPad 2, iPhone 4 Just 4 Weeks Away (VIDEOS)

It is another tough week for the Cupertino-based Apple as it faces a double whammy.

The first whammy is the Wednesday ruling by U.S. District Judge Dennis Cot in Manhattan that allowed a trial for damage over the increase in e-book pricing by Apple. In allowing the trial, the judge found that Apple allegedly conspired with publishers to fix the prices of electronic books.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr denied the finding and insisted the price increase were justified by innovation it introduced and competition in the e-book market in 2010. He said Apple will appeal the ruling after Ms Cote found the tech giant to have conspired to eliminate Amazon.com's popular $9.99 e-book prices.

The second whammy is the fast approach of an International Trade Commission decision in June that threatens to ban the importation of the iPad 2 and iPhone 4 resulting from a lawsuit filed by Samsung. Apple filed a motion on Monday with ITC to reverse its decision because of its potential damage to the company's revenues and that of its carrier partners.

Although the devices affected by the ITC decision are older one and have been superseded by newer smartphones and tablets, Apple argued that the second-gen iPad and iPhone 4 still represented entry-level options to customers that would introduce the Apple brand to them.

It added the two products covered by the ban have been purchased by major GSM carriers which would place them in a competitive disadvantage against their CDMA competitors.

Besides the Apple's motion, U.S. President Barack Obama - who is the only other option left for the tech giant - would unlikely reverse the ITC decision.

Commenting on the ITC ruling, Samsung said, "We believe the ITC's final determination has confirmed Apple's history of free-riding on Samsung's technological innovations."

A third whammy looming against Apple is Samsung's request with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for a new trial for a patent in relation to a $1 billion infringement fine imposed on the South Korean company.

In asking for a new trial also on Monday, Samsung cited the re-examination of the patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office of U.S. Patent 7,469,381 on list scrolling and document translation, scaling and rotation on a touchscreen display which Apple had patented as its overscroll bounce.