Washington [US], January 17 (ANI): Amazon, an American multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence, is facing a new lawsuit alleging that a deal between the company and five major US book publishers has created higher prices on e-books.

According to The Verge, the lawsuit filed by law firm Hagens Berman in a federal district court in New York, alleges that the publishers pay high commissions and other costs to Amazon, which in turn increases the retail price of e-books sold on the platform.

Due to the deal between Amazon and the publishers 'HarperCollins Publishers', 'Hachette Book Group', 'Penguin Random House', 'Simon & Schuster', and 'Macmillan', the Amazon price is the price the publishers charge other retailers as well, preventing other sellers from offering the e-books at lower prices, according to the lawsuit.

As per The Verge, this lawsuit claims these five publishers account for eighty percent of books sold in the US market and calls the arrangement a "conspiracy to fix the retail price of e-books," which it argues is a violation of antitrust law. (ANI)

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