The reshaping of the publishing industry is apparently in the offing in near future, with US District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan recently approving the Justice Department's anti-trust settlement with three leading publishers - Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins - over their alleged collusion in e-book pricing.

With the Justice Department having earlier accused the three publishers of conniving with Apple and two other publishers - Macmillan and Penguin Group - to inflate the costs of e-books, the approval of the anti-trust settlement by Judge Cote could possibly pave the way for lower e-book prices.

In its accusations, the Justice Department had said that Apple and the publishers had unlawfully colluding on e-book prices, apparently in a move to combat the e-book market dominance of online retailer Amazon. The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against Apple and the publishers came after the iPad's 2010 launch, when Apple worked out a deal with the publishers to release books via its new iBookstore.

Under the settlement approved by Judge Cote, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette will have to grant Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers, the freedom to slash e-book prices, without having to sign contracts for the two-year period which restricts such pricing decisions.

Noting that the settlement will "begin to undo harm and restore price-competition," Sharis Pozen - chief of the anti-trust division at the Justice Department - said: "It will result in lower e-book prices and provide a more open and fair marketplace."