Hawaii Part of $69 Million E-Book Anti-Trust Settlement

Hawaii consumers will see about $300,000 in the settlement, according to the Hawaii attorney general’s office. 

The antitrust settlement involved Hachette Book Group Inc, HarperCollins Publishers and Simon & Schuster. Hawaii AG David Louie and 53 other attorneys general in other states and U.S. territories filed suit, accusing the company of an unlawful conspiracy to fix the prices of electronic books. 

Excerpts from a press release: 

Under the proposed settlement agreement, which the court must approve, Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster will compensate consumers who purchased E-books from any of the Publishers during the period of April 1, 2010 through May 21, 2012.  Payments will begin 30 days after the court approval of the settlement becomes final. Consumers in Hawaii could receive up to $300,000 in total compensation. The settling defendants will also pay approximately $7.5 million to the states for fees and costs. 

Photo courtesy of Flickr user sermoa.