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
Now that eBooks have enabled anyone to be a published author, more would-be scribes are submitting their work directly through digital storefronts like Kindle Direct Publishing. Yet even with this radical change in the book industry, the e-publishing process is hardly simple. In fact the... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-08-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#google docs
#published author
#work directly
#radical change
#book industry
Unless you've been living in a book-free cave, you may have heard that retail giant Amazon and book publisher Hachette are having a little tiff. It's all about digital versions of books -- so-called ebooks -- and it boils down to this: Amazon wants... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ebook publishers
#digital versions
The tussle between Amazon and the publishing conglomerate has been raging since spring. Heres an update on the fightA corporate boxing match broke from the ring and swelled into all-out rumpus last weekend, as readers and authors took sides in Amazon and Hachettes fight over the publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#online retailer
#contract negotiations
#giant corporations
#lower price
Hachette finance chief plays down effect of Amazon tactics as parent Lagardère reports 1% overall dip in salesThe Hachette publishing group has reported a fall in ebook sales as it continues its battle with Amazon over pricing.The publisher of Ian Rankin and Booker prize nominee Joshua Ferris... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-08-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#ebook sales
#ian rankin
#online retailer
#bestselling authors
The judge presiding over the antitrust case involving Apple Inc.’s $450 million offer to settle an ebook price-fixing lawsuit is said some provisions of the deal could reduce consumers' recovery, Reuters reported. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote said Thursday during a teleconference that she is... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#reuters reported
Hugh Howey says his study, based on calculation of Amazon sales, shows 'real progress' for authors who have chosen to go it aloneA new report claims that self-published authors have surged to 31% of ebook sales on Amazon.com, and are now earning more ebook royalties than writers published by the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hugh howey
#ebook sales
#ebook royalties
#traditional publishers
Apple Inc. has agreed to pay $400 million to settle allegations that the company conspired with publishers to raise ebook prices. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#apple agrees
#company conspired
Apple agrees to pay as much as $400m to settle a lawsuit over accusations it colluded with publishers to fix ebooks prices. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#apple agrees
Apple has reached a settlement in a long-standing case that accused the company of fixing the price on ebooks, with the company paying up to $400 million, depending on the outcome of its appeal in the case, a law firm has announced. Apple would pay the $400 million in the class-action lawsuit if... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#$400 million
#law firm
#class-action lawsuit
iPad manufacturer to pay damages contingent upon appeals court ruling over whether it conspired with publishers to fix pricesApple has agreed to pay $450m (£262.7m) in the US to settle claims the iPad manufacturer conspired with five major publishers to fix ebook prices.It came ahead of damages... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#apple agrees
#settle claims
#damages trial
#harper collins
#simon schuster
#ebook purchasers
Amazon recently offered Hachette writers 100 percent of ebook profits until the dispute between the publisher and the bookselling giant is resolved. The move prompted criticism from Hachette. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#hachette authors
#bookselling giant
Despite sounding like a rogue militant organization from G.I. Joe, Hatchette is actually a book publishing group. Tame as that may sound, Hatchette is currently engaged in a high-stakes game of Chicken with a juggernaut in the book sales world:... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Amazon senior vice president of Kindle content Russ Grandinetti told The Wall Street Journal that Amazon is acting 'in the long term interest of our customers.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#amazon speaks
#publisher hachette
In appeal filings last week, lawyers for Simon & Schuster and Macmillan contend that Judge Denise Cote's injunction against Apple has made a timely return to a “no-discount” agency model for ebooks all but impossible. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#agency model
#simon schuster
Apple has avoided an $800 million bill from a clutch of US states and other complainants by reaching an out of court settlement in a controversial price-fixing case. The settlement, the terms of which are yet to be revealed, still has to be ratified by the court and both sides involved in the... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2014-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#district judge
Apple has settled a portion of its ebook price-fixing case involving several state governments which were seeking up to $840 million on behalf of consumers. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2014-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#$840 million
Plaintiff attorneys informed Judge Denise Cote on Monday that they had reached an agreement with Apple to settle monetary claims in the long-running ebook price-fixing case. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
To Kill a Mockingbird (William Heinemann) is to be published as an ebook for the first time by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
A New York judge has given the go-ahead for a group to collectively sue Apple for damages over its collusion with publishers to fix the price of electronic books.Denise Cote, a judge at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, wrote in her approval of class status that... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2014-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#york judge
#ebooks case
#harpercollins publishers
#electronic books
#district court
#southern district
#class status
#simon schuster
Customers of Amazon.com Inc. found credits in their inboxes Tuesday from the settlement of an antitrust lawsuit over ebook prices. Amazon, in a Customer FAQ posting on its website, said the credits are partial refunds and will be applied automatically to the accounts of those eligible: people... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2014-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#antitrust lawsuit
#ebook prices
#simon schuster
#publishers agreed