Short Story? Three Publishers In “Settling Mode” Over eBook Price Fixing, But Apple, Two Other Publishers Want Trial

April 19, 2012 · Posted in M&E Daily, Today's M&E Connections 

While three book publishers are proposing payments of restitution to consumers in settlements with all 50 state governments, Apple and two other major publishers are continuing to fight the U.S. government’s eBook price-fixing allegations. Consequently, it remains unclear how the accusations by the U.S. Department of Justice against Apple and publishers will ultimately affect eBook retail.

Appearing before a New York federal court on Wednesday, a lawyer for HarperCollins said that his company, along with fellow publishers Hachette and Simon & Schuster, were in “settling mode” following accusations that they colluded with Apple on a price-fixing response to Amazon.com’s discounting strategy for eBooks (via paidContent). Under soon-to-be-reached settlements with potentially all 50 U.S. states — the HarperCollins lawyer predicted that agreements could be finalized within the next two months — consumers would be offered “restitution” refunds for what would be deemed overpayments on digital book purchases.

The settlements would lead to the undoing of “most favored nation” contracts between Apple and the publishers, paving the way for eBook discounts on certain titles to return at Amazon (via Reuters). However, Apple and two other publishers — Macmillan and Penguin — continue to deny the allegations of collusion, with representatives telling the court Wednesday that they want to defend themselves against the government accusations at trial. The next court hearing date is reportedly scheduled for June 22.

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