The DOJ is poised to really slap Apple for its eBook price fixing case

The terms of the proposed settlement in the Apple e-book price fixing case were published on Friday by the Justice Department. An article by Neil Hughes posted at www.appleinsider.com stated that:

The DOJ said the change would allow consumers on the iPad and iPhone to "easily compare Apple's prices with those of its competitors." Currently, Apple takes a 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases made through App Store software, and does not allow developers to circumvent this rule by linking to a website for purchases.

According to the DOJ statement:

"Under the department’s proposed order, Apple's illegal conduct will cease and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future." - Bill Baer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division”

The result of this would be that Apple would be required to terminate its existing e-book agreements with the (5) major publishers that were originally cited for conspiring to fix prices. Those publishers were Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group,  Macmillan, Penguin Group, and HarperCollins Publishers. This settlement may also include other digital media products that Apple sells as well including music, movies, television, etc…

It will interesting if the proposal made public on Friday will be approved by the court but if it is, there could be some serious ramifications to Apple in the near future hitting them directly on the bottom line.