Apple E-Book Price Fixing Case: US Settles With Macmillan

The authorities in the US have announced that they have entered a settlement with Macmillan regarding the e-book price-fixing case. The case has now been settled with all the five publishers who were charged for conspiring with Apple regarding price-fixing.

The case will next proceed against Apple and the trial is said to begin on June. Macmillan, the book company had now joined Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin Group, Hachette Book Group in settling down the charges which arose out of the conspiracy.

Macmillian was quick enough to lift the restrictions it had imposed on promotions and discounts by other e-retailers. The price-fixing plan according to US officials was formed to put an end to the discounting schemes of Amazon. The website sold the books at offer prices until Apple forced a new pricing plan. The new pricing plan imposed by Apple shot up the book prices from $9.99 (rs.550/-approx) to $12.99 (Rs.700/-approx), $414.99 (Rs.22300/-approx) and higher.

According to the recent settlement, Macmillan will allow its retailers to sell books at lower prices. The prices of books from Macmillan publications are also expected to decline like the prices of other publishers such as Harper Collins and Hachette.

A lawsuit was filed last April by the five publishing companies and Apple as they were unhappy with the retail giant offering e-books at reduced prizes. This had brought down the prices of e-books significantly. The suit filed in the US court in 2009 was to end Amazons' ability to sell books at lower prices.