The U.S. Justice Department just formally charged Apple, along with book publishers, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Penguin in regards to e-book pricing. The DoJ alleges that the companies colluded in anticompetitive practices involving pricing and sales. This comes after a year-long investigation into the matter after Apple switched to an “agency” model where they retained a portion of the sale of e-books sold through its platforms. This is said to have resulted in higher prices industry-wide, since the power to set prices rested in the hands of only a few sellers. Bloomberg reports that several publishers are seeking to settle with the DoJ. Simon & Schuster, Lagardère SCA’s Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins could settle as soon as today. (Update: They just settled) However, Apple and Macmillian reportedly refused to engage in settlement talks, so far denying the claims. This might get ugly.