Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer, LLP Investigating Potential Legal Violations Involving "Inclusive Access" Textbook And Course Material System Used By Current And Former Students At Numerous U.S. Colleges And Universities

NEW YORK, March 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer, LLP is actively investigating potential antitrust claims based on "Inclusive Access," which is a system designed by the country's largest textbook publishers and retailers for college and university students (which includes undergraduate and graduate students plus students in law, medical, dental or other specialized post-graduate programs) to access textbooks and necessary course materials created by the course instructor, including reading assignments, homework problems and sample quizzes.  Current or former students who purchased or rented textbooks through Inclusive Access from March 5, 2016 to the present may have antitrust claims against the defendants, which include Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, Cengage Learning, Inc., Follett Higher Education Group, McGraw-Hill Global Education Holdings, and Pearson Education, Inc. 

Under Inclusive Access, students receive access to the online version of the textbook, the access expires after the semester is over, and the cost is often (but not always) billed directly to a student's tuition bill. This can be arranged only through the official campus bookstore, whether run by a large retailer or directly by the institution. Students are normally unable to purchase the Inclusive Access materials from any other source, because the large publishers refuse to sell them to off-campus bookstores or online bookstores.  This lack of competition increases prices and reduces student choice in getting necessary textbooks. 

If you are such a student – current or former – who purchased textbooks and related course materials through Inclusive Access at your college or university, and would like to discuss our investigation, please contact us by emailing Donnie Hall ([email protected]), Matt McCahill ([email protected]) or Aaron Schwartz ([email protected]). 

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Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, with offices in New York, Oakland, Los Angeles, Chicago and New Jersey, has decades of experience in prosecuting antitrust class actions. For more information about Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, you may visit our website at www.kaplanfox.com.  If you have any questions about your rights or interests, please contact any of the lawyers identified above.  

SOURCE Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP