Once upon a time, the publishing world involved a vast, gatekeeping entity called the Big Six. Shortly after a devastating anti-trust lawsuit involving five of those publishers, Penguin and Random House merged to become the current largest trade publisher in the US. But a new deal to buy Simon & Schuster--amounting to what the Washington Post has called "the Big Bad Wolf … [Read more...] about Authors to Dept of Justice: Stop the Penguin Random House Buy of Simon & Schuster
DoJ
More Speculation on the Final Bill for Apple’s Price Fixing Problems
News was announced yesterday from the lawyers for the plaintiffs in one of Apple's side lawsuits over ebook pricing that the grand total the company could have to pay out to consumers is $400 million. This amount was disclosed after the terms of the settlement were released following Judge Denise Cote's approval of the settlement. This settlement isn't to be confused with … [Read more...] about More Speculation on the Final Bill for Apple’s Price Fixing Problems
Forbes: Amazon Dispute Not About Money
Despite the hordes of critics who have verbally assaulted Amazon for its greed in the Hachette dispute, an article for Forbes today demonstrated the outcome of the current contract negotiation holds a certain percentage of Amazon's revenue in the balance. How much is that revenue? Around eleven million dollars. As in, 0.014% of its total $78billion business. Apple was … [Read more...] about Forbes: Amazon Dispute Not About Money
US Publishers Earn More through Online Sales than Physical Stores
In a report from two entities that watch the publishing industry in the US, sales figures for 2013 show some surprising trends. These trends, followed by the Book Industry Study Group and the Association of American Publishers in their annual BookStats report, found several interesting changes in certain genres of the book market. Adult non-fiction made the leap above … [Read more...] about US Publishers Earn More through Online Sales than Physical Stores
New Plaintiffs Come on Board Against Apple for eBook Price Fixing
Apple is still waiting for the final decision from Judge Denise Cote in the ebook price fixing scandal, entered into with five of the then-Big Six publishers in order to drive out some of Amazon's market share. While the publishers settled out of court, Apple wasn't so lucky. The final damages in the suit--which certain provisions under the law could cause to come in at almost … [Read more...] about New Plaintiffs Come on Board Against Apple for eBook Price Fixing
The Big Five Settled Out of Court and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
The wheels of justice do, indeed, turn slowly. Turtles stampeding through peanut butter kind of slowly. Because the end result of an investigation by the Department of Justice that first began back in 2010 has finally resulted in emails going out to customers informing them of the credits on their Amazon accounts. While I'm not sure that consumers are supposed to disclose the … [Read more...] about The Big Five Settled Out of Court and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
Court Appointed Babysitter for Apple in DOJ Case
As part of the terms in the ongoing proceedings against Apple in an ebook price fixing anti-trust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice, Judge Denise Cote ordered an external monitor to ensure that Apple did not enter into any further collusion that would fall under the scope of the investigation. The appointment of Michael Bromwich as the person charged with overseeing … [Read more...] about Court Appointed Babysitter for Apple in DOJ Case
Canada Institutes Its Own eBook Terms with Publishers
Following the court drama of the Department of Justice investigation of five of the Big Six publishers, attorneys then lined up to file their own class action lawsuits on behalf of consumers who overpaid by millions of dollars for ebooks as a result of a conspiracy to arrange the prices on titles. While the battle is still not fully finalized in the US in terms of how much … [Read more...] about Canada Institutes Its Own eBook Terms with Publishers
New $840M Claim Against Apple for eBook Price Fixing
A US judge is still in the process of handling the DOJ lawsuit against Apple--along with five of the then-Big Six publishers--for conspiring to raise the price of ebooks in order to impact the market share that Amazon held over the industry. The outcome, which included settlements from most of the publishers seeking to avoid lengthy and costly court battles as well as a guilty … [Read more...] about New $840M Claim Against Apple for eBook Price Fixing
Attorney Watchdog Named in Apple Anti-Trust Case
Part of the terms of the Department of Justice anti-trust lawsuit against Apple and several major publishers included the establishment of an external watchdog to monitor Apple's actions, especially where business deals with publishers are concerned. Today, the attorney who will serve in that capacity was named, one of two choices proposed for the role by the DoJ. Michael … [Read more...] about Attorney Watchdog Named in Apple Anti-Trust Case
Kindle Announces Potential Refunds to Customers
In a mass email to its customers yesterday, Amazon announced some good news for customers who've been awaiting news of the results of the Apple/Big Five settlement. Despite the fact that the email didn't contain any concrete information on when customers will receive account credits or when those credits will appear, it was a small reassurance to customers that the wheels are … [Read more...] about Kindle Announces Potential Refunds to Customers
Publishers Displeased with DOJ Terms against Apple
The first stage in the Department of Justice anti-trust lawsuit against Apple and five of the Big Six publishers was to secure settlements from the publishers involved. The publishers, who at the time were Penguin, Macmillan, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette but who only now include Random House due to its merger with Penguin (Random House took no part in the … [Read more...] about Publishers Displeased with DOJ Terms against Apple
Apple’s Troubles with DOJ Far from Over
Sometimes, it's just not enough to win, at least in the eyes of the Department of Justice. And when the issue involves anti-trust violations and price fixing, it can seem like it's not enough for the government to slap you on the wrist, if damages in the ball park of $266 million to $500 million can be seen as a little slap. Now that Judge Denise Cote ruled that Apple was, … [Read more...] about Apple’s Troubles with DOJ Far from Over
Apple Ruling Too Punitive?
While consumers and industry watchers alike have spent a fair amount of time waiting eagerly to see how the ruling handed down against Apple for anti-trust violations would actually impact the publishing industry, the tech company has made a statement of its own asserting that the decision by Judge Denise Cote in the case brought against them by the Department of Justice is … [Read more...] about Apple Ruling Too Punitive?