The Justice Department has formally decided to sue Apple, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillian, Penguin and Simon & Schuster over alleged ebook price-rigging. Apple and Macmillian have already denied any wrongdoing, saying that the agreements were enhancing competition in an industry previously dominated by Amazon. The case centers around a deal to switch to agency pricing, where the vendor takes a 30 percent cut of each sale rather than the wholesale model which allows stores to sell books at rock-bottom prices. It was previously believed that the publishers had cut back-room deals with the Government agency after bowing to pressure to withdraw Cupertino's "favored nation" status. If successful, the DoJ will allow Amazon and Barnes and Noble amongst others to return to the wholesale model to sell best-sellers at a loss, something that the big five are desperate to avoid, and will look to fight the battle in court. Update: The PDF of the DoJ's filing is now available online -- it makes for fascinating reading. Update 2: Bloomberg is now reporting that Simon & Schuster, Lagardère SCA's Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins have settled with the DoJ over unspecified terms. Hasty!Justice Department formally charges Apple, big five publishers in ebook price fixing case (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Bloomberg, Department of Justice filing (PDF) | Email this | Comments Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2012-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The former L.A. County prosecutor's high-stakes tale of crime, celebrity and the courtroom can be suspiciously convenient, but it's all in good fun.No one knows celebrity murder trials better than Marcia Clark, the former prosecutor in the L.A. County district attorney's Special Trials Unit.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Childrens Books fiction publishing director Ruth Alltimes has bought a posthumous... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-Libros, one Colombia's few digital publishers, is using the tarjeta e-libro, or ebook cards, to reach readers accustomed to only buying print books. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Conventional wisdom says that entrepreneurs who start a Web-based business will do so with VC money. Read enough stories of Internet ventures that enjoy lucrative exits in the millions (in some cases billions) of dollars, and it’s easy to assume that the only path to success is to begin by... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2013-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Corp. (NWSA)’s publishing spinoff began trading today at a market value of about $9.1 billion, one-seventh the size of the entertainment side of the media empire, underscoring the business’s growth challenges. The &ldqu ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Publishing announces that the Hangman's Daughter series is their first million seller. Is it a cause for concern? Celebration? Or merely surprise that it took this long? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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British-based publishers topped the world’s global publishing rankings in 2012, making up... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An email composed, but never sent, by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs may prove instrumental in the Justice Department's case that Apple, along with the five largest book publishers, colluded to fix prices for electronic books.In a draft email intended for Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue about... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-06-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple didn't try to fix or raise the prices of electronic books when it entered into the market in 2010, according to Apple Senior Vice President Eddy Cue. Rather, he says, the company was only working to ensure a profit for itself."We're not willing to lose money in any business," Cue told the... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A price war has been sparked on e-reading devices as the summer holiday season begins, with many... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Magzter, an online store front for digital magazines, is to launch an ebook store with a planned... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nearly half the titles read by children in a national reading competition were consumed online, according to the charity Booktrust. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As print magazine and book publishers struggle to stay afloat, Not Safe For Work, a print magazine and news startup in Las Vegas, has raised $250,000 in seed funding from Base Ventures, VentureWire has learned. The company offers a monthly print ma ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The OED bent the rules slightly by adding 'tweet' in under 10 years – a nod to the word's rapid and widespread rise into everyday usage. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Passing on your favorite books to your heirs has sentimental value. But how will that work if your library is digital? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Inc. (AAPL) executive Eddy Cue told a judge he felt extra pressure to reach deals with ebook publishers in time for the introduction of the iPad in 2010 because of company cofounder Steve Jobs’s precarious health. “Steve ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Society of Authors has ignited a public row with publishers over ebook lending terms, after... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The head of Apple's iBookstore says Apple has captured 20 percent of the U.S. ebook market. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2013-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Few people understand the magic of libraries better than Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials, but all is not well when it comes to digital lending. As the soon-to-be president of the Society of Authors, Pullman is leading the charge against publishing houses that may be shortchanging... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ongoing DOJ lawsuit against Apple and scandal at the NSA have underscored the divide between the US and Europe when it comes to the book business, privacy and information. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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#book business