By Saabira Chaudhuri
Macmillan has struck a deal to settle a lawsuit brought by
Connecticut and 32 other states that alleges the publisher was
involved in price-fixing and collusion in the market for electronic
books.
Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen noted the deal grants
eBook outlets greater freedom to reduce the prices of eBook titles
and provides $12 million to compensate affected customers in the 33
states.
"Consumers are entitled to a fair and open marketplace," Mr.
Jepsen said in a statement. "This agreement is another step toward
providing restitution to those consumers who were harmed by alleged
price-fixing within the eBook market and will further ensure that,
going forward, consumers benefit from fair competition in the sale
of eBooks."
Separately, the Connecticut Attorney General's office said the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has
granted final approval of previous settlements with eBook
publishers Lagardere S.C.A.'s (MMB.FR) Hachette Book Group Inc.,
CBS Corp.'s (CBS, CBSA) Simon & Schuster Inc., and News Corp.'s
(NWSA, NWS) HarperCollins Publishers LLC relating to the same
conduct.
News Corp. also owns Dow Jones, the publisher of this
newswire.
Final approval of these settlements paves the way for the
affected consumers to receive $69 million in consumer
restitution.
The litigation and settlements stem from a two-year
investigation conducted by the Offices of the Connecticut and Texas
Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Justice Department last April sued five major publishers and
Apple Inc., alleging they had colluded to raise e-book prices in an
attempt to end Amazon.com Inc.'s popular policy of discounting
digital best sellers. The publishers and Apple denied the
allegations.
Three publishers, Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, and
HarperCollins Publishers, settled at the time. Penguin Group (USA)
settled in December.
Macmillan recently became the last major publisher to settle in
the Justice Department lawsuit, which alleges collusion over e-book
pricing, allowing retailers to again discount its titles, for a
limited time. Macmillan's settlement leaves Apple as the remaining
defendant.
Also last April, a group of 16 states, led by Connecticut and
Texas, filed their own suit against Apple, Macmillan, Penguin and
Simon & Schuster.
On Thursday, the Connecticut Attorney General Office noted that
the litigating states continue to litigate against Apple and
Penguin Group USA. The trial against Penguin and Apple currently is
scheduled to begin in June.
--Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg contributed to this story.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at saabira.chaudhuri@dowjones.com
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