Monday news round up: All about the DOJ Settlement

The biggest piece of news the last 10 days are the fact that the US department of Justice is suing Apple, Macmillan and Penguin for collusion on e-book prices, and that Hachette, Simon and Schuster and HarperCollins are settling. I skimmed through the settlement and the complaint, but to me it is all legalese. Luckily, there is plenty of articles explaining it in terms that laymen can understand.
From Law.com:
DOJ Antitrust Suit Alleges Apple and E-Book Publishers Fixed Prices
Experts Consider How Apple E-Book Suit Will Impact Business, Regulation

If you need a nice summary, Dear Author have several helpful posts that sums it up. They also have an nice primer on anti trust law.

And, it isn't only in the US that the publishers are getting sued for collusion.  They are also getting sued in Canada, and EU are investigating them for price fixing.

So how does Apple and the publishers react?  Apple claims that they "broke Amazon's grip."  John Sargent wrote an public letter explaining that everything was a coincidence.
Penguin issued a press release.

Personally, I think the evidence in the complaint is quite damning.