Dive Brief:

• With an agreement in principle to settle claims by consumers and some states that Apple colluded with publishers to set e-book prices, the electronics retailer will move closer to closing that chapter of its digital sales history by avoiding a July trial on the matter.

• Details of the agreement are not available and require court approval. The case is related to an antitrust suit won by the U.S. Department of Justice that found that Apple Inc. colluded with book publishers to keep e-book prices high. Apple is appealing that judgment.

• Apple had previously refused to participate in a December settlement between publishers and several states that covered e-books bought between April 2010 and May 2012.

Dive Insight:

As with the antitrust lawsuit, this settlement leaves out the elephant in the room: Amazon. As publishers and Apple work with states and consumers to settle this case, Amazon has started the fires in a whole new way with its hardball negotiations on e-book prices, most notably in its current dispute with Hachette Book Group. Amazon was never a party to any of these lawsuits, but it nevertheless is inviting plenty of controversy in this area.