It took 3 weeks longer than I expected, but the Big Five Publishers have been named as co-defendants in the Amazon ebook price-fixing lawsuit. Following an amended complaint filed this...Continue reading
Category: Antitrust
Connecticut is Investigating Amazon’s eBook Business
When I reported last Thursday that a class-action suit had been filed against Amazon, accusing them of conspiring with publishers, I apparently had missed that the state of Conn. is...Continue reading
Amazon Sued Over Its Dominance of the eBook Market (Finally)
News broke this week that Amazon is being sued for colluding with five major publishers to inflate prices. The case was filed by the same law firm that lead the...Continue reading
The Usual Book Publishing Industry Players Ask Congress to Bell the Cat
It’s hard to beleive that it’s been, what, 5 years since we last played this game, but the US book publishing industry is back to its favorite pastime: complaining about...Continue reading
Apple is Turning the Screws on App Developers, Including Your Favorite eBook Apps
For the past 9 or so years app developers have had a quasi-truce with Apple. So long as the developer didn’t sell anything inside the app (or even hint that...Continue reading
Guest Post: Amazon, Google and Facebook Warrant Antitrust Scrutiny for Many Reasons – Not Just Because They’re Large
There’s a growing chorus of U.S. politicians, antitrust scholars and consumer watchdogs calling for stricter antitrust treatment of Amazon, Google, Facebook and other tech giants. Some even say they should be broken up. Most recently, U.S....Continue reading
Kobo is Issuing New Credits From the eBook Antitrust Settlement
I have heard from a few readers, and now Dear Author has confirmed, that Kobo has joined Amazon and Barnes & Noble in redistributing unused credits from the ebook antitrust...Continue reading
Barnes & Noble Now Redistributing Unused Credits From the eBook Antitrust Settlement
Amazon isn’t the only ebook retailer sending out credits for the ebook antitrust settlement this week; Barnes & Noble has also announced that it is disbursing additional credits starting today,...Continue reading
Amazon Sent Me a 76 Cent Credit From the Apple eBook Price-Fixing Settlement – How Should I Spend It?
Amazon is sending out emails this morning with the news that ebook buyers are getting another ebook antitrust settlement payment. the money comes from the fine Apple paid as a result of...Continue reading
Kindle Users Have Three More Days to Use Their Apple eBook Credit
The funds Apple paid out as restitution for its role in conspiring to raise and fix ebook prices in early 2010 ar about to expire. In late 2015 Apple was ordered...Continue reading
EU Accepts Amazon eBook Commitments to Settle Antitrust Case
The most-favored-nation clause is a tool invented by Apple and used by Amazon to prevent being undercut by price competition. It is on house arrest in the European ebook market...Continue reading
Apple to Publishers, Authors: No MFN Enforcement in Canada Until 2020
Last month’s settlement between the Canadian Competition Bureau, Apple, and 3 trade publishers has attracted little press attention, so there’s a good chance that more than a few publishers and...Continue reading
Canada’s Agency eBook Pricing Settlement Will Have Little Impact on eBook Prices
Yesterday’s news about Apple and three major trade publishers agreeing to give up agency price controls in Canada has been misreported in some circles, with one person going so far...Continue reading
Sources Say Amazon Wants to Settle EU Antitrust eBook Investigation
The two antitrust complaints made against Amazon by book publishers in Germany turned out to have no merit, but the ongoing EU investigation may have legs. Reuters reports that Amazon is...Continue reading
Kobo Wins Appeal Over Agency eBook Pricing in Canada
Kobo has successfully appealed a 2014 consent agreement between the Canadian Competition Bureau and Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster where the publishers had agreed to abandon agency pricing and...Continue reading