Apple Slams Proposed E-Book Settlement

To say Apple is "not pleased" with the Justice Department's proposed settlement would be an understatement. The proposed settlement -- with Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers, and Simon & Schuster (owned by CBS, which publishes CNET) -- requires the three e-book publishers to terminate their existing contracts with Apple. Apple, which denied the Justice Department's allegations, said the publishers' settlement unfairly impacts Apple and would be "irreversible."