NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A federal judge approved an anti-trust settlement Wednesday with a trio of major publishers that could pave the way for lower e-book prices.
Hachette Book Group, CBS's (CBS, Fortune 500)Simon & Schuster and News Corp.'s (NWSA, Fortune 500) HarperCollins agreed to the settlement earlier this year, to resolve allegations that they had colluded with Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) to prop up the price of e-books. Spokespeople for all three publishers declined to comment.
The suit from the Department of Justice stems from the 2010 release of the iPad, when Apple reached an agreement with the publishers to release books via its new iBookstore.
Before the release of the iPad, Amazon's (AMZN, Fortune 500) Kindle was the preeminent e-book reader on the market. Amazon forced publishers to sell most books at $9.99.
According to the Department of Justice, booksellers were unnerved by the discounted e-book price structure Amazon launched in 2007. The publishers went to Apple in late 2009 to find a way to force Amazon to raise its prices. The iPad proved to be the perfect tool to accomplish that.
The alleged conspiracy placed many books at so-called "agency pricing," putting them on the market for about $12.99 and giving Apple a 30% cut. About three days later, Amazon allowed publishers to set their own prices, resulting in higher prices on the Kindle as well.
The DOJ has alleged that as a result of the arrangement, e-book customers paid between $2 and $3 more per book, amounting to upwards of $100 million more than they otherwise would have.
Apple said in a court filing last month that it would likely appeal the approval of the settlement. The tech giant, as well as publishers Macmillan andPearson's (PSO) Penguin, have opted not to settle, and their case is set to head to trial next June.
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