Apple Distributes Settlement Money to Ebook Customers

Posted on June 21, 2016

Today is the day that Apple makes good on its $400 million settlement in the ebook price-fixing case brought by the Department of Justice against the tech giant and major New York book publishers. The refunds are now credited to customers' Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple accounts. The credit will be available for one year and expires after June 24, 2017, pursuant to court order.

The last round of payouts was in 2014, when the book publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster) settled the case before Apple did. Those settlements could only be used to buy other ebooks. But the Apple settlement money can be used for any product or service the retailer offers, other than gift cards. For Amazon.com customers that is a really good deal: the money can be used to be anything from books to shoes.

This settlement covers books purchased between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012. The total amount customers will have received due to the lawsuit is $566 million. Today happy customers are posting animations on Twitter showing their joy at the surprise credit that appeared in their Amazon accounts.