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DOJ wants Apple to scrap deals with publishers to settle eBook price-fixing case

Published Aug 2nd, 2013 12:15PM EDT
Apple DOJ eBook Settlement

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The United States Department of Justice has given Apple its first offer to settle charges that it led a conspiracy to rig eBook prices. The DOJ on Friday said that it wanted Apple to “terminate its existing agreements with the five major publishers with which it conspired” and to “also for two years allow other e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to provide links from their e-book apps to their e-bookstores, allowing consumers who purchase and read e-books on their iPads and iPhones easily to compare Apple’s prices with those of its competitors.” Despite its continued insistence that it’s done nothing wrong, Apple is likely to settle with the DOJ at some point, especially since some analysts think the company could get hit with $500 million in damages if it keeps holding out.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.