Justice Dept. Settles with Three Publishers, Continues Action Against Apple and Two Others

Under the proposed settlement agreement with Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, they will terminate their agreements with Apple and other eBooks retailers and will be prohibited for two years from entering into new agreements that constrain retailers’ ability to offer discounts or other promotions to consumers to encourage the sale of the publishers’ eBooks. The settlement does not prohibit Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster from entering new agency agreements with eBook retailers, but those agreements cannot prohibit the retailer from reducing the price set by the publishers.