Macmillan settles up with DoJ, Apple now stands alone in e-book price fixing case

It took awhile to read the writing on the wall, but Macmillan has finally settled the antitrust lawsuit brought by the US Justice Department for the publisher's alleged e-book price fixing. In doing so, Macmillan joins Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Penguin in choosing not to go to trial against the DoJ's lawyers. It's an about-face from Macmillan's initial stance in settlement negotiations, when it claimed that the DoJ's terms were far too onerous.

Why settle now? Company CEO John Sargent told the Wall Street Journal that the company changed its tune not because it was guilty, but "because the potential penalties became too high to risk even the possibility of an unfavorable outcome." Should the settlement terms be approved by the court, retailers will be able to discount Macmillan titles, regardless of existing contracts, for 23 months starting from December 18, 2012. With Macmillan bowing out, Apple remains as Uncle Sam's lone legal opponent at the trial scheduled in June. Given Apple's staunch denial of wrongdoing and general willingness to litigate, it seems we may be in for some more legal fireworks this summer.

Follow the Saga E-Book Price FixingMacmillan settles up with DoJ, Apple now stands alone in e-book price fixing caseFeb 8th 2013 2:11PM

Penguin joins publishers settling with the DOJ over e-book pricesDec 18th 2012 8:44PM

Judge approves settlement for Hachette, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins in e-book lawsuitSep 6th 2012 4:59PM

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Via: Electronista

Source: Wall Street Journal

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By: Unknown On 8:49 PM

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Samsung, Philips, LG and others reportedly set to face EU regulatory fines for CRT price fixing

By Mark Hearn posted Nov 9th 2012 2:58PM

Samsung SDI, Philips, LG, Technicolor, Panasonic and Toshiba are said to be facing heavy fines from the European Commission due to alleged involvement in a TV cathode-ray tube price fixing ring. According to Reuters, the fines will be announced on November 28th and can reach up to ten percent of the turnover during the period which the cartel was said to have ran. Based on 2011 revenues, LG could be fined up to $5 billion, while Dutch-based Philips would top out at around $2.9 billion. While the fines aren't expected to reach such heights, it will definitely take more than a few Black Friday blowout sales to recover this type of coin.

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By: Dilusha On 6:54 PM

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