Apple Inc. (Photo credit: marcopako )

Ohio citizens that purchased e-books in the past will be receiving refund checks or account credits as part of a 2012 lawsuit against Apple Inc. for working with book publishers to keep book prices high. Amazon credit many accounts yesterday will about $5 per consumer. The book publishers agreed to a settlement which is now being refunded. There might be an additional settlement and refund with Apple as they are still litigating.

Ohio was a part of a suit nationwide that included 33 states and the US Department of Justice. Apple was struggling at the time to compete with Amazon’s low $9.99 per book offerings and made the decision to work directly with 5 publishers to keep book prices inflated. The period of time that the lawsuit covered was from April 2010 to May 2012. Therefore, if you purchased an e-book during that period you should be receiving a refund from the settlement shortly.

Credits are usually 73 cents per title but are a much better $3.17 for NY Times Best Sellers purchased during the period.

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