Claiming that the "defendant publishers control 85-percent of the most popular fiction and non-fiction titles," Hagens Berman says that as a result of the alleged "pricing conspiracy," e-book prices have jumped "as much as 50 percent."
None of the lawyers Book Business Extra contacted felt they could comment on the case since it was just announced, and they were not yet familiar enough with the case's details. Extra also contacted several of the publishers in the suit. A Simon & Schuster representative stated that the company had no comment, and a spokesperson for Hachette Book Group (HBG) said that HBG had not been served with any complaint, so the company also currently has no comment. A representative of Macmillan commented, "Macmillan denies the allegations and intends to defend the case vigorously."