The Department of Justice said that a settlement was reached with e-book publishers, MacMillan. There's some bad news for Apple, however. The department plans to continue its litigation with the Cupertino company for conspiring to raise e-brook prices to consumer, along with four other U.S. book publishers. The trial against Apple is scheduled to begin proceedings in June.
"As a result of today's settlement, Macmillan has agreed to immediately allow retailers to lower the prices consumers pay for Macmillan's e-books," said Jamillia Ferris in a Friday press release. Ferris is the Chief of Staff and Counsel at the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
The April lawsuit filed by the department alleged that Apple, Macmillan and four publishers conspired to eliminate retail price competition. This affected consumers, causing them to pay millions of dollars more for their e-books. Retailers regularly sold e-book versions of new releases and bestsellers for $9.99. According the department, as a result of the conspiracy, consumers were charged $12.99, $14.99 or more for the most popular e-books. The complaint said that Apple and the five publishers were not pleased that e-book prices were reduced due to competition among e-book sellers. The companies worked together and raised the retail price of the e-books, as they though the retail profit margin levels were too low.
The court approved a settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster in September. The period for public comment on the department's settlement with Penguin will end in March. According to the proposed settlement with Macmillan, it must lift the current discount and promotion restrictions that it has on e-book retailers. Macmillan is forbidden to enter into any new agreements that impose similar restrictions until December 2014.
"Just as consumers are already paying lower prices for the e-book versions of many of Hachette's, HarperCollins' and Simon & Schuster's new releases and best sellers, we expect the prices of many of Macmillan's e-books will also decline," said Ferris.
A strict antitrust compliance program will be imposed on Macmillan as part the settlement, requiring it to provide advance notice of any e-book business ventures with other publishers. The publishing company must also provide the department with regular reports of any communications it has with other publishers.
As required by the Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act, the proposed settlement and the department's competitive impact statement will be published in the Federal Register. Within 60 days of its publication, any individual may submit written comments concerning the settlement to the U.S. Department of Justice for further consideration. The comments will be published either in the Federal Register or digitally on the department's website, with the court's approval. At the end of the comment period, "the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest," said the release.
