E-book, Book Publisher | featured news

Cheaper e-books from three publishers could return within one to three months, in the wake of a judge's approval this week of the antitrust settlement between the publishers and the Justice Department.

Three major U.S. e-book publishers have agreed to a deal that will see them pay a significant sum for alleged e-book price-fixing. Connecticut State Attorney General George Jepsen yesterday announced that he, "along with 54 attorneys general in other states, districts, and U.S. territories," have signed a $69 million deal with Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, and Simon & Schuster (which is owned by CBS, the same company that publishes CNET) to settle antitrust claims over an alleged conspiracy to artificially inflate e-book prices.

The company denies that it conspired with book publishers to raise e-book prices to give Apple’s new iPad a boost, and accuses the government of siding with Amazon.

With ebook sales on the rise, how is the publishing industry embracing the world of digital? Next week some of the biggest names in publishing will gather at the Hilton in London's Park Lane for The Bookseller Industry Awards.

Apple is offering to settle the e-book case in Europe even as it protests its innocence in the US. Which is a little odd, to simultaneously give in and fight the same accusations at the same time...

Apple Inc wants to go to trial to defend itself against U.S. government allegations that it conspired with publishers to raise prices of electronic books, a lawyer for the Silicon Valley giant said in court on Wednesday.

Wednesday was a dark day for the future of books. The Department of Justice charged Apple and five large book publishers with conspiring to raise e-book prices. Three of the five publishers quickly capitulated rather than face the risk and expense of a protracted legal battle.

The U.S. government has filed an antitrust lawsuit in New York against Apple Inc. and various major book publishers. The lawsuit said the alleged conspiracy came as Apple was preparing to launch the iPad.

Sourcebooks, a leading independent publisher, is launching an online bookstore this week to sell romance titles through subscriptions, a move that further thins the line between publishing and book retailing.

The U.S. Justice Department has warned Apple Inc. and five top book publishers that lawsuits over alleged e-book price fixing might be in the offing, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.