Apple has reached an out of court settlement with plaintiffs that accused it of price-fixing on e-books, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Apple and the plaintiffs – consumers and some US states – have reached an agreement in principle that must be approved by the US District Court in New York, said Steve Berman, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, the Journal reported on Tuesday.

The terms of the settlement were not made public.

The plaintiffs had been seeking $US840 million ($A908.85 million) in damages from Apple, arguing that it had overcharged consumers on e-books to the tune of $US280 million.

The plaintiffs said the tech giant should have to pay three times that amount in damages, the paper said.

The agreement is contingent on Apple’s appeal of an anti-trust ruling last year by US District Judge Denise Cote that Apple and five major American publishers had colluded to push up the price of e-books, the Journal added. Apple says it has not broken any anti-trust laws.

AFP