<p>Apple and five of the publishing industry’s top firms have been accused of conspiring to raise prices and block Amazon.com from selling e-books at $9.99 in a US Justice Department suit.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The suit filed Wednesday stems from the 2010 release of the iPad, when Apple reached an agreement with the five publishers to release books on its then-new iBookstore.<br /><br />Three publishers — Hachette, Simon and Schuster and HarperCollins — agreed to settle. Apple, Penguin Group and Macmillan did not agree to settle. Macmillan’s chief executive said Wednesday that the firm would fight the charges in court.<br /><br />US Attorney General Eric Holder said that as a result of the conspiracy, “consumers paid millions of dollars more for some of the most popular titles” and competition was eliminated. Attorneys general for Connecticut and Texas led a handful of other states in separate litigation against the companies as well.<br /><br />Before the release of the iPad, Amazon’s Kindle was the preeminent e-book reader on the market. Amazon forced publishers to sell most books at $9.99 — a price that came in below the cost of the books. According to the Justice Department, booksellers were unnerved by the discounted e-book price structure.</p>
<p>Apple and five of the publishing industry’s top firms have been accused of conspiring to raise prices and block Amazon.com from selling e-books at $9.99 in a US Justice Department suit.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The suit filed Wednesday stems from the 2010 release of the iPad, when Apple reached an agreement with the five publishers to release books on its then-new iBookstore.<br /><br />Three publishers — Hachette, Simon and Schuster and HarperCollins — agreed to settle. Apple, Penguin Group and Macmillan did not agree to settle. Macmillan’s chief executive said Wednesday that the firm would fight the charges in court.<br /><br />US Attorney General Eric Holder said that as a result of the conspiracy, “consumers paid millions of dollars more for some of the most popular titles” and competition was eliminated. Attorneys general for Connecticut and Texas led a handful of other states in separate litigation against the companies as well.<br /><br />Before the release of the iPad, Amazon’s Kindle was the preeminent e-book reader on the market. Amazon forced publishers to sell most books at $9.99 — a price that came in below the cost of the books. According to the Justice Department, booksellers were unnerved by the discounted e-book price structure.</p>