MO reaches settlement with e-book publishers

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and 54 attorneys general in other states and U.S. territories have reached a settlement with three major U.S. book publishers, resolving allegations the companies engaged in a conspiracy to fix prices for electronic book sales.

Under the settlement agreement, Hachette Book Group Inc., HarperCollins Publishers LLC and Simon & Schuster Inc. will pay consumers $69 million for e-books purchased between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012, and roughly $7.5 million to the states and territories for fees and costs. The settlement is subject to approval by a New York district court, according to an Aug. 30 news release from Koster's office.

Missouri consumers are expected to receive compensation of up to $1.1 million.

“Our legal action sends a strong message that companies cannot get away with price-fixing,” Koster said in the release. “These publishers’ behavior cost consumers millions of dollars, but today’s settlement begins to compensate those consumers.”

The publishers in today's settlement also agreed to exit current contracts so that retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble can set e-book prices. The publishers also have agreed not to enter into any new contracts for two years that would constrain the ability of retailers to discount e-books, the release said.

In April, Koster and 15 other attorneys general filed suit alleging Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group Inc. and Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, dba Macmillan, conspired with each other and Apple Inc. to artificially raise prices by fixing the prices for best-sellers at $12.99 and $14.99. The suit against Apple and the nonsettling publishers - Penguin and Macmillan - is pending trial set for June 2013 in the Southern District of New York, according to the release.