Although it continues to deny that its policies violate price discrimination laws, Cambridge University Press, the last defendant in the National Association of College Stores 1997 "dual pricing" lawsuit, announced a settlement with NACS and released plans to change its discount policy. Oxford University Press and Addison Wesley Longman, also charged in the suit, have also reached agreements with NACS to change their discount policies (News, Feb. 2; Nov. 2).
The original suit (News, July 28, 1997) charged the three publishers with discriminating against college bookstores by decreasing discounts for the large book orders typical of classroom adoptions. Under the settlement Cambridge will now offer a "modified" discount policy applicable without regard to whether the books are for classroom use or for trade purposes. The plan offers CUP's trade category titles at a 40% discount for up to 24 copies and 45% for 25 or more copies; scholarly titles and medical books will be offered at 35% and 33% discounts, regardless of quantity. The new policy is effective April 1.
(In the story regarding Oxford University Press's settlement with NACS [News, Nov. 2], PW incorrectly stated that NACS charged OUP with making price distinctions on trade book discounts. The suit focused on academic and college titles.)
