The US government sued Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and five publishers, saying
they conspired to fix the prices of electronic books, and reached a
settlement with three of the publishers that could lead to cheaper
e-books for consumers. The Justice Department accused Apple of colluding with the five publishers as the Silicon Valley giant was launching its iPad in early 2010 and was seeking to break up Amazon.com's low-cost dominance in the digital book market.
Because of the agreement, e-book prices went up an average of $2 to $3 in a three-day period in early 2010, according to the Justice Department lawsuit filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday.
The settlement reached with three of the publishers will allow Amazon (AMZN.O) to resume discounting books, and will terminate the "most favored nation" contracts with Apple.
Amazon said in response to the settlement that it plans to lower prices on books associated with its Kindle e-reader.
The pact also requires the publishers to wait two years before entering into any "agency model" agreements that prevent retailers from offering discounts on electronic books.
The publishers who agreed to settle are News Corp's (NWSA.O) HarperCollins Publishers Inc, CBS Corp's (CBS.N) Simon & Schuster Inc and Lagardere SCA's (LAGA.PA) Hachette Book Group.
Hachette and HarperCollins also settled with a group of US states, agreeing to pay $51 million in restitution to consumers who bought e-books.
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