Apple & Publishers Sued Over eBook Pricing

Consumer rights firm Hagens Berman has filed a class action suit against Apple and five of the “big six” publishers–alleging that the agency model for eBook pricing is “in violation of a variety of federal and state antitrust laws, the Sherman Act, the Cartwright Act and the Unfair Competition Act.”

Hagens Berman is also seeking more eBook customers to join the class action suit. Follow this link for more details. The firm speculates that damages “could total tens of millions of dollars.”

Here’s more about the suit, from the law firm: “While free market forces would dictate that e-books would be cheaper than their hard-copy counterparts, considering lower production and distribution costs, the complaint shows that as a result of the agency model and alleged collusion, many e-books are more expensive than their hard-copy counterparts. According to the complaint, the prices of e-books have risen as much as 50 percent since the switch to an agency model.”

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