U.S. Department of Justice Sues Apple and Publishers over E-Book Pricing

ibooks iconFollowing up on last month's threat to file suit over the Apple-backed agency model of e-book pricing, the U.S. Department of Justice today sued Apple and a number of book publishers over the practice, Bloomberg briefly reports. Settlement talks had been ongoing, but Apple and the publishers were reportedly unwilling to meet the Department of Justice's demands.

The U.S. filed a price- fixing antitrust lawsuit against Apple Corp. and Hachette in New York district court over eBook pricing. The government also sued HarperCollins, Macmillan and Penguin, according to court papers.

Settlement talks had centered around dismantling the agency model, which sees publishers set retail pricing and vendors receive a percentage of the sales price. Apple had pushed for the agency model in an attempt to dilute Amazon's power in the book market, where it had offered vast discounts, even sometimes selling books at a loss, in order to attract customers who would make other purchases through the site.

But the Department of Justice believes that the agency model as implemented by the publishers at Apple's behest amounts to collusion, with contracts between Apple and the publishers including language that prevented the publishers from offering lower pricing to competitors than they did to Apple. Contrary to the government's claims of an anti-competitive impact from the agency model, Apple and several of the publishers have argued that the move has fostered competitiveness by limiting Amazon's stranglehold on the book market. Consequently, the two sides have been unable to reach a settlement.

Update: Bloomberg reports that the Department of Justice has reached a settlement with Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and HarperCollins over the issue. Once finalized, the settlement would leave Apple, Macmillan and Penguin as defendants in the case.

Macmillan CEO John Sargent has published an open letter to the publisher's authors, illustrators and agents outlining why it will fight the lawsuit.

It is always better if possible to settle these matters before a case is brought. The costs of continuing—in time, distraction, and expense— are truly daunting.

But the terms the DOJ demanded were too onerous. After careful consideration, we came to the conclusion that the terms could have allowed Amazon to recover the monopoly position it had been building before our switch to the agency model. We also felt the settlement the DOJ wanted to impose would have a very negative and long term impact on those who sell books for a living, from the largest chain stores to the smallest independents.

Sargent notes that Macmillan makes less money under the agency model than it did under the previous wholesale model, but that it made the change to support competitiveness in the market, not stifle it.

Addressing the Department of Justice's claim that publishers and Apple colluded to fix pricing, Sargent also describes the circumstances under which he made the final decision to move to the agency model, calling it the "loneliest decision" he has ever made.

The government’s charge is that Macmillan’s CEO colluded with other CEO’s in changing to the agency model. I am Macmillan’s CEO and I made the decision to move Macmillan to the agency model. After days of thought and worry, I made the decision on January 22nd, 2010 a little after 4:00 AM, on an exercise bike in my basement. It remains the loneliest decision I have ever made, and I see no reason to go back on it now.

Update 2: The Department of Justice has released a transcript of a press conference statement from Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the lawsuit.

Update 3: Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen today announced that a group of sixteen states have followed the Department of Justice's lead and filed their own lawsuit against Apple and publishers. The complaint claims that consumers were overcharged by at least $100 million due to the alleged price fixing.

Update 4: The Verge has a thorough analysis of the highlights from the Department of Justice's filing.

Top Rated Comments

WannaGoMac Avatar
152 months ago
Finally. I know I will be marked down on this site for saying this but...before Apple entered the ebook business, prices were coming DOWN. After Apple entered the ebook business, prices all went up and have stayed flat at the new price point.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xenomorph Avatar
152 months ago
great news for the consumer!
Indeed. I've stayed away from purchasing any e-book so far. Why would I pay $15 for a digital copy when I can order the same book online for $7?

I guess you're paying for the convenience of having all the digital copies in the palm of your hand, but digital distribution was supposed to make things cheaper!!!

If I can buy a hundreds of games on Steam for a fraction of the cost of what the boxed copies would have cost me, I'd think books (and movies) would be even cheaper.

Same with online movies.
Why buy a movie on iTunes for $15-$20, when I can pick it up on Blu-Ray at Walmart for $10 (which includes the HD Blu-ray, DVD, and sometimes even a free digital copy)?
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miles01110 Avatar
152 months ago
I honestly never really understood the government's argument on this one. Publishers already have a monopoly on book pricing anyways since one book is (usually) only available from one publisher. How can they collude with one another to keep the price of a book only one party has a monopoly on artificially high?
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
152 months ago
Thank you big brother.

I'm glad they don't waste time with time wasting issues such as collusion of gas prices at the pumps, and they deal with important things like book prices.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
milbournosphere Avatar
152 months ago
It's nice to see my government working for me. :) Hopefully the matter will be resolved quickly. E-book pricing models are starting to get a little scary...
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TMay Avatar
152 months ago
Finally. I know I will be marked down on this site for saying this but...before Apple entered the ebook business, prices were coming DOWN. After Apple entered the ebook business, prices all went up and have stayed flat at the new price point.

Before Apple became involved, Amazon was "dumping" ebooks at prices below cost to gain market share.

This is what "dumping" looks like in the steel market...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2009/12/30/81483/china-loses-steel-dumping-case.html

"In a unanimous decision, the three Democrats and three Republicans on the ITC determined that subsidized steel from China has damaged U.S. steelmakers. The Chinese steel, the panel determined, had been dumped — sold at artificially low prices to undercut fair competition."

What part of Amazon's action doesn't look like "dumping", i.e., subsidizing to undercut fair competition, e.g., Apple, Wal Mart, et al.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iOS 17

28 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in December's iOS 17.2 Update

Friday December 1, 2023 2:57 am PST by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 28 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released this December. 1. Help...
anker new xmas

Anker's Cyber Week Sale Enters Final Days With Up to 60% Off Sitewide

Friday December 1, 2023 12:05 pm PST by
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.1.2 With Security Fixes

Thursday November 30, 2023 10:12 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2, small updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems that Apple introduced in September. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 come a few weeks after the release of iOS 17.1.1, another bug fix update. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update....
iPhone 16 Mock Header Updated 1

iPhone 16 to Include Action Button Across Entire Lineup

Thursday November 30, 2023 4:08 pm PST by
The release of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max saw the introduction of an entirely new user-configurable button known as the Action button, and now, MacRumors has seen extensive evidence confirming Apple is planning to include the Action button on the entire iPhone 16 range. Designs and plans for the Action button date back to at least 2021, as the button was intended for release alongside hapt...
top stories 2dec2023

Top Stories: iOS 17.1.2 Released, NameDrop Misinformation, and More

Saturday December 2, 2023 6:00 am PST by
Apple employees are back to work following a Thanksgiving break, and that means this week saw a number of new operating system updates for both public release and beta testing. This week also saw some misinformation about Apple's new NameDrop feature making the rounds, while Apple and Goldman Sachs appear to be on the verge of a break-up in their Apple Card and savings account partnership,...
General Apps Messages

Green Bubbles on iPhone to Gain These 7 New Features Next Year

Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...
paramount plus logo

Apple and Paramount Considering Discounted TV+ Streaming Bundle

Friday December 1, 2023 4:40 am PST by
Apple and Paramount have discussed bundling their TV streaming services at a discount, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal. The companies have talked about offering a combination of Paramount+ and Apple TV+ that would cost less than subscribing to both services separately, according to people familiar with the discussions. The discussions are in their early stages, and it is ...