Apple, ebook publishers look to settle EU antitrust dispute

Apple and four major ebook publishers have offered retailers such as Amazon.com the option to set their own prices for ebooks for the next two years in a bid to end an antitrust investigation in the European Union. The European Commission launched the investigation into allegations of cartel price-fixing by Harper Collins, Hachette Livre, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Macmillan and Apple last December. The publishers are accused of colluding with Apple to fix the price of ebooks, forcing up prices for consumers and attempting to squeeze rivals such as Amazon out of the market. The case hinges on so-called “agency pricing”, which allows more control by publishers over retail prices, in particular an unusual “most favored nation” (MFN) clause. Apple, Harper Collins, Hachette Livre, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan have all offered to terminate existing agency agreements and refrain from adopting price MFN clauses for five years. Penguin has not offered any commitments and an investigation into its conduct is ongoing. In addition, retailers would be free to set the retail price of ebooks, offering whatever discounts or promotions they wish, for a two-year period, so long as the total value of discounts does not exceed the total annual amount of commission that the retailer receives from the publisher, reported the E.U.’s Official Journal on Wednesday. This could mean lower prices for consumers thanks to increased competition. However the Commission is asking... Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2012-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #increased competition #proposed remedies #interested parties #provide feedback

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Has Social Media Made Search-Driven Publishing Irrelevant?

The growing importance of social media, coupled with the powerful wrath of Google, have shaken the once-hot world of cheap search-driven publishing. About.com recently dumped its CEO. Yahoo’s $100 million acquisition of Associated Content (now Yahoo Voices) has yielded a network of 700,000... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion to publish R J Ellory digital exclusive

Orion is publishing an exclusive trilogy of short stories by crime writer R J Ellory, called... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Has Social Media Made Search-Driven Publishing Less Relevant?

The growing importance of social media, coupled with the powerful wrath of Google, have shaken the once-hot world of cheap search-driven publishing. About.com recently dumped its CEO. Yahoo’s $100 million acquisition of Associated Content (now Yahoo Voices) has yielded a network of 700,000... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #necessarily viewed #selling point #horizon media #founders left #team monitors #fans react #specific characters #smart strategy


ASP Westward Sells Community Media of Colorado to Macari-Healey Publishing Company, LLC

HOUSTON, TX - February 6, 2012 - Macari-Healey Publishing Company, LLC, of Golden, Colorado has purchased Community Media of Colorado from ASP Westward. The Houston-based newspaper publisher had owned CMC since 2002. ASP Westward also ope ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dummies Euro Crisis ebook

Wiley imprint For Dummies is publishing a 99p mini ebook, The Euro Crisis for Dummies by Julian... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Culture committee publishes inquiry evidence

Six hundred pages of written submissions to the library inquiry being held this week by the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Tweaks iBook Language: Your Content Is Your Content

A couple weeks after introducing its new iBooks Author app, Apple has clarified legal language about what happens to the books users create with the software. Apple continues to insist that users can only sell electronic books in the iBook format via its iTunes store. But it makes it clear that... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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AA Publishing scoops Dan Kieran

AA Publishing is continuing to acquire narrative travel titles, buying up The Idle Traveller by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Browns launches ebook platform

Book supplier Browns Books for Students is to launch an ebook platform especially for schools... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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International print sales retreat—but US ebooks 'slowing'

Print sales are in retreat in almost all markets across the world tracked by Nielsen BookScan,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon ups UK ebook sales five-fold

Amazon.co.uk increased Kindle ebook sales by five times in its fourth quarter but its parent... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Toshiba outlines ebook ambitions

Toshiba, which will launch its first dedicated digital reader on 10th February, is aiming to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Quercus reports 270% December ebook sales growth

Quercus has reported that sales of its non-Larsson books increased by 83% over the last quarter... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ambitious plans for Apple textbook growth

Publishers launching titles on the new Apple interactive textbook platform [part of the iBooks 2... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ig Publishing Marks a Decade

Founded in 2002 by the husband and wife team of Robert Lasner and Elizabeth Clementson, Brooklyn independent Ig Publishing is celebrating its 10th anniversary against all the odds. The house debuted with For Fuck’s Sake, a novel by Lasner, which did so well at the time, Lassner said, “We both... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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App Development Strategies for Small to Medium-Sized Publishers

Keeping pace with the dramatic changes on the smartphone and tablet front is no small feat for any publisher, but doing so presents a particular challenge for smaller companies without a safety net of funds for experimentation with platforms that are at once in their infancy and yet increasingly... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2012-01-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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33Across Acquires Publishing Data Gold Mine Tynt

Facebook may be the biggest social network on the planet, but social ad targeting firm 33Across says it now has the distinction of managing the world’s largest social and interest graph. The company was set to announce today that it has acquired San Francisco-based publishing sharing tool Tynt,... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Milbank appointed Octopus publishing director

Octopus has appointed Richard Milbank, previously non-fiction publishing director at Atlantic... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One in four Americans own an ebook reader or tablet

That's a dramatic change from just a few months ago and, perhaps not coincidentally, before new Nooks and Kindles lowered price of entry for both categories. Between December and January, the number of Americans owning one of the devices rose to 29 percent from 18 percent. During the same time... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2012-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Agile' publishing at Digital Book World

Publishers may be falling out of love with apps, but they need to fall in love with their... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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