A group of independent college bookstores have filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit against McGraw-Hill, Cengage, and Pearson, who together control 80 percent of the higher education textbook market, and against college bookselling chains Barnes & Noble Education and Follett, who are dubbed their “co-conspirators.” At issue are the publishers’ “inclusive access” programs, digital-only course materials that the plaintiffs say publishers sell exclusively to Barnes & Noble and Follett, cutting independent retailers out. According to the suit, the list of institutions where indies were blocked from buying and selling inclusive access in 2019 included the University of New Mexico, Eastern Kentucky […]
