Daniel Floyd

The European Commission announced on Thursday that it reached an agreement with Apple and four major book publishers that addresses concerns over possible e-book price-fixing. Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Hachette Livre, Macmillan, and Apple all agreed to modify existing agreements to allow retailers to discount e-books for two years and to eliminate "most-favored nation" clauses for five years. The Commission is satisfied that the changes address anti-competition issues and has suspended its investigation without levying fines or other sanctions.

A woman holds up an iPad with the iTunes U app after a news conference introducing a digital textbook service in New York in this January 19, 2012, file photo. Two publishers took a similar stance in the first hearing in Manhattan federal court since the anti-trust division of the Department of Justice last week accused Apple and five publishers of colluding to break up Amazon.coms AMZN-Q The publishers are Macmillan, a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH, and Pearson Plcs Penguin Group. Settlements with the other three publishers HarperCollins Publishers Inc, Simon & Schuster Inc and Hachette

What does Apple say to the Department of Justice’s lawsuit? “We’ll see you in court.” Reuters reports that Apple has told a court that it wants the antitrust case to go to a full trial. "Our basic view is that we would like the case to be decided on the merits," Apple lawyer, Daniel Floyd, [...]