Price fix any good books lately?
April 11, 2012 11:02 AM Subscribe
US Justice Dept Sues E-Book Publishers and Distributor for Price Fixing The lawsuit, describing scenes of publishing executives meeting for private dinners at pricey restaurants, alleges that Apple and the publishers conspired to limit e-book price competition, causing “e-book consumers to pay tens of millions of dollars more for e-books than they otherwise would have paid.”
Three publishers that were investigated — Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins — have agreed to a settlement, threatening to overturn a pricing model that allows publishers to set their own e-book prices.
The announcement capped an investigation that began last year into Apple and the five companies, which are among the biggest book publishers. The investigation was in response to what government investigators said was illegal action two years ago when the publishers adopted a pricing policy for e-books.
That policy, known as the agency model, allowed publishers to set their own prices on e-books, with the retailer taking a commission. It was a significant switch from the wholesale model that publishers had been using for print books. Under the wholesale model, publishers charged retailers about half the cover price for a book and then allowed retailers to set their own sale price.
Transcript of Holder's press conference statement.
Three publishers that were investigated — Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins — have agreed to a settlement, threatening to overturn a pricing model that allows publishers to set their own e-book prices.
The announcement capped an investigation that began last year into Apple and the five companies, which are among the biggest book publishers. The investigation was in response to what government investigators said was illegal action two years ago when the publishers adopted a pricing policy for e-books.
That policy, known as the agency model, allowed publishers to set their own prices on e-books, with the retailer taking a commission. It was a significant switch from the wholesale model that publishers had been using for print books. Under the wholesale model, publishers charged retailers about half the cover price for a book and then allowed retailers to set their own sale price.
Transcript of Holder's press conference statement.
This post was deleted for the following reason: posted previously. -- jessamyn
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posted by modernnomad at 11:02 AM on April 11, 2012