E-book settlement payments set to begin
Notification to consumers has begun in the $69 million legal settlement between 49 states and certain electronic book publishers, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Wednesday.
Publishers agreed to pay the money — more than $917,000 to Oregon consumers – to settle allegations they conspired to fix prices.
Over the past few days, eligible consumers should have received emails from the publishers with details on how to proceed. Consumers who purchased e-books through Apple or Sony should have received emails showing the sender as “State Attorney General E-book Settlement” and the email address as Administrator@vertismail.com
These are legitimate emails authorized by the Attorneys General.
“This settlement helps consumers who were overcharged get some of their money back,” said Attorney General Rosenblum. “It also is intended to ensure more competitive e-book prices in the future.”
In the September settlement, Hachette Book Group (USA,) HarperCollins Publishers LLC and Simon & Schuster Inc. agreed to pay a total of more than $69 million to consumers to resolve the price-fixing allegations. The companies agreed to change the way they price e-books. Litigation continues against Apple Inc., Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as MacMillan, and Penguin Groups (U.S.A.) Inc. That trial is scheduled for June 2013.
Additional information about the settlement and the credits can be found at www.EBooksAGSettlements.com or by calling toll free 866-621-4153 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. central time, Monday through Friday.
To be eligible, consumers must have purchased a qualifying e-book from April 1, 2010 through May 21, 2012. They will receive a check or a credit to their e-book retailer account. The exact amount to be paid per book is not yet finalized.
