Apple and publishers face lawsuit over e-book prices

Technology giant Apple and book publishers Macmillan and Penguin are all being sued by the US government over the pricing of e-books, it emerged yesterday.

The lawsuit relates to the so-called “agency” model, where publishers rather than sellers set e-book prices.

US officials allege that Apple and the publishers had a common interest in fighting Amazon’s practice of selling e-books for as little as $9.99 (£6.30) and decided to work together to raise prices by switching to the agency.

Fellow publishers Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster have already settled.

US attorney general Eric Holder said that the proposed settlement would give retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble the freedom to reduce e-book prices.

The lawsuit claims the conspiracy has caused consumers to pay “tens of millions of dollars more for e-books than they otherwise would have paid”.

The news came just a day after Apple surpassed $600bn in value, affirming its position as the world’s most valuable listed company.