Starting Now, Apple Customers to Receive iBooks Settlement Payments
Millions of e-book purchasers will begin receiving credits and checks beginning today, June 21. The move is the result of an antitrust lawsuit filed against Apple and five of the nation’s largest publishing companies.
Retailers will issue emails and put the credits in the accounts simultaneously.
According to Hagens Berman, the law firm representing plaintiffs in the case, consumers will receive a $6.93 credit for every e-book which was a New York Times bestseller, and a $1.57 credit for other e-books.
Where are the credits?
Credits will be sent to the accounts of consumers at major book retailers, including Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Barnes & Noble Inc., and Kobo Inc. Retailers will issue emails and put the credits in the accounts simultaneously. E-Book purchasers who requested a check will receive the credit in the mail.
In July 2014, Apple agreed to a $450 million settlement to resolve this case, which was first filed in August 2011. The five other defendants were Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, and Simon and Schuster. In total, $400 million is going to consumers.
According to Hagens Berman, “Apple illegally colluded with a group of five publishing companies to manipulate the e-book market by artificially raising the price of e-books, lowering competition and charging consumers higher prices.” In doing so, “the anticompetitive price-fixing collusion between Apple and the publishers caused the price of e-books to increase 30 to 50 percent to $12.99 or $14.99 from Amazon’s $9.99 price.”
