U.S. Justice Dept may sue Apple, publishers on e-book pricing

The U.S. Justice Department has warned Apple

To be sued?

However, not all publishers are in settlement discussions, the Journal said. The five publishers identified in the Journal report are Simon & Schuster Inc, a unit of CBS Corp

More from News Analysis

Representatives for the five publishers, Apple and the Justice Department declined to comment to the Journal. Reuters could not reach any of the parties for comment outside of regular U.S. business hours.

The publishers have denied acting jointly to raise prices, according to the Journal. They have told investigators that the shift to an "agency pricing model" enhanced competition in the industry by allowing more electronic booksellers to thrive.

Under the "agency model", publishers would set the price of the book and Apple would take a 30 percent cut. Apple also specified that publishers could not let rival retailers sell the same book at a lower price.

Amazon Inc

Reuters