Justice Department formally charges Apple, big five publishers in ebook price fixing case (update)

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 ]
News tagged with: #sell books #previously believed #favored nation #fascinating reading

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Justice Department formally charges Apple, big five publishers in ebook price fixing case (update)'


Patent Grants Apple Ownership Over E-book “Page Turn”

A patent, titled “Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface,” gives Apple the exclusive right to the page turn in an e-reader application. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Publishers join in Black Friday offers

Publishers have joined retailers for the first time in offering customers up to 50% off books as... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #offering customers


Further publisher consolidation 'inevitable'

Further major publisher consolidations will change the face of the industry in the next year,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publisher consolidation


Apple owns a patent for page-turning – kind of

Apple now holds the patent for the appearance of their animation which makes it look as if the reader of an ebook is turning a physical page. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


How Any Brand Can Become a Publisher

If an advertiser wants to jump on this whole "brands as publishers" trend, they would seem to have two choices. They can hire editors and writers and start producing lots of their own content, like GE. Or they can have junior staffers or interns spend half the day trolling the Web to find... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #luxury hotel #human touch #financial services


Could Tumblr Save Web Publishing?

Last month, as storm surges from Hurricane Sandy inundated lower Manhattan, Datagram, a New York-based media ISP, watched as its basement full of severs took on over five feet of water, causing major outages for prominent online publishers like Gawker Media, BuzzFeed and the Huffington Post. ... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2012-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #front door #coming months


Big Green Bookshop owners to open children’s bookshop

The owners of the Big Green Bookshop are to open a second premises in Brookmans Park,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #open children


NYT: Penguin to extend ebook and audiobook library rentals to LA and Cleveland

Penguin will refresh its ebook lending system later today, according to a report from the New York Times. The publisher will start lending out its titles in Los Angeles and Cleveland, mimicking the program that trialled (despite some DRM issues) in New York. Public library users can even expect... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital copy #lose access #permalinkthe verge


'The Baby-sitters Club' novels will get ebook releases

The first 20 books in the popular children's series by Ann M. Martin will be released in electronic format on Dec. 1. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #baby-sitters club #ebook releases #popular children #electronic format


AAM Completes Initial Certification of Adobe Digital Publishing Suite

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Alliance for Audited Media, formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations, has completed an initial audit of Adobe Digital Publishing Suite (DPS), a solution that many AAM publisher members use ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #audited media #audit bureau


A One-Stop, Web-Based Shop For Comic Book Publishing

Graphicly abandoned their iTunes-like comic book marketplace to develop a full suite of online publishing tools for visual storytellers. As Adrian Tomine has pointed out, the one-time subculture of comics and graphic novels has migrated into the mainstream over the past decade. The... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2012-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


In Corporate Publishing, Are E-books PDF 2.0?

The PDF is firmly entrenched in corporate culture, but as digitally savvy employees push for a sensible way to consume long documents at work the ebook format will take hold. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #corporate publishing #ebook format


Competition or Cooperation? News Publishers Turn to Their Neighbors

Participants at the African Media Leaders Forum in Dakar, Senegal, today heard how twinning partnerships between African newspapers, and newspapers elsewhere, are leading the way to developing successful business strategies and strengthening financia ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


On Transitioning from Fixed Book to Reflowable E-book Formats

Realizing no single major Japanese vendor supported fixed layout ebooks, Sakkam Press was forced to switch to reflowable formats. Here's how they managed it. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


A True Princess of the Publishing Industry

Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi founded the Emirates Publishers Association and pushed for it to become a full member of the IPA. Here, she explains it was so important. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing industry


Can Bricks-and-Mortar Bookstores Win a Price War with Amazon?

Australia's Bookworld has guaranteed that it will beat Amazon and other online competitors' prices by 10%. But are they risking losing too much profit? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #beat amazon #price war #online competitors


November Top BlueInk Reviews of Self Published Books

This month's starred reviews of self-published books includes a SF mystery set in dystopia where people live in domed cities and a memoir of Mexican immigration to the US. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #published books #starred reviews #people live


Amazon Cuts Japanese Kindle Price; Sony’s eBookstore Again on iOS

Amazon lowered the price of its Japanese Kindle Paperwhite to 100 dollars, matching the price of the recently announced Kobo Glo, while Sony's ebookstore is again on iOS. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


HC uses iBooks Author for Hobbit film ebooks

HarperCollins is capitalising on the forthcoming release of the first Hobbit film by putting out... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2012-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ibooks author #forthcoming release


DC Comics brings a veritable justice league of titles to Kindle, iBooks and Nook Stores

Not that there's been any lack of ways to get Batman or Supes on your chosen tablet, between Comixology and the devoted DC app, but if you happened to need on more, the publisher announced today that it will be bringing its entire line to three prominent e-bookstores. Justice League, Batman,... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kindle store #nook stores #justice league #nook store