Last month, we heard the Department of Justice was investigating Apple and a number of major publishers for price fixing ebooks. Now, Reuters is reporting that the DoJ could sue Apple as early as today, if they decide to go down that route. The government is looking into the way Apple, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group, Macmillan and HarperCollins Publishers Inc. colluded to change the primary model of distributing ebooks into the so-called “agency model”, where the publisher set the price rather than the store.
According to Reuter’s sources, a lawsuit against Apple could come today, though no final decision has been reached. Allegedly, some of the publishers have opted to settle with the DoJ, but Apple has not, and hence the potential for further legal action.
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