Publishers agree $69m anti-trust settlement

on 30/08/2012 08:46:44

US attorneys general in 55 areas who claim there was a conspiracy to fix electronic book prices say they have got on board with a $69m (€55m) settlement of anti-trust claims against three publishers.

Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Shuster had earlier settled with the US government. Hachette denied it was in a conspiracy but said it changed its pricing structure.

Attorneys general in 55 states, districts and territories said the money would be paid to customers who bought electronic books from the publishers between April 1 2010 and May 21.

The publishers will also pay $7.5m (€6m) to the states to cover costs. A variation of the settlement was announced in April, but attorneys general in many states had not joined in.