A national anti-trust settlement with three publishers could yield $1.2 million to Connecticut consumers as compensation for price-fixing of e-books, Attorney General George Jepsen announced Wednesday.
Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers and Simon & Schuster Inc., which are the three largest book publishers, have agreed to pay a total of more than $69 million to settle claims of a conspiracy to fix prices.
“While publishers are entitled to their profits, consumers are equally entitled to a fair and open marketplace,” Jepsen said. “This settlement will provide restitution to those customers who were harmed by this price-fixing scheme, but it also will restore competition in the eBook market for consumers’ long-term benefit.”