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
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
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
Quebec’s Book Price Fixing Law Can Ruin the Book Economy
The government of Quebec has gone forward with a law that was months in the making, putting a restriction on book pricing. Retailers can not discount a book more than ten percent now, and that restriction applies to both print and ebooks. However, despite the celebration of the news from booksellers and publishers, there are several problems with the measure. First, there is … [Read more...] about Quebec’s Book Price Fixing Law Can Ruin the Book Economy
Efforts to Intervene in Disbursement of Refunds in DOJ, Publisher Suit
Late last week, Judge Denise Cote, the judge who has presided over the Department of Justice lawsuit against Apple and five of the then-Big Six publishers, approved the terms of the settlements with the publishers, meaning the doors have finally been opened for the money to begin making its way back to the consumers who overpaid for ebooks. But one person has been working to … [Read more...] about Efforts to Intervene in Disbursement of Refunds in DOJ, Publisher Suit
Data Reveals How Much Consumers Overspent Thanks to eBook Price Fixing
In all of the coverage of did-they-or-didn't-they aspect to the Apple ebook price fixing lawsuit, very little news came out about how the alleged secret meetings and publisher plots to take down Amazon actually affected the consumers. This week Publisher's Weekly's Andrew Albanese posted an article that details the actual breakdown by state of how many consumers were … [Read more...] about Data Reveals How Much Consumers Overspent Thanks to eBook Price Fixing
Cote Details Limits of Apple’s Relationships with Publishers
In a seventeen page document from US Judge Denise Cote filed on September 5th, Apple learned the full extent of how it is expected to conduct business with publishers from now on. This expectation arose as a result of the price fixing allegations that rested on Apple and five of the then-Big Six publishers; Random House was not named in any of the investigations or resulting … [Read more...] about Cote Details Limits of Apple’s Relationships with Publishers
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
Quebec Considers Move towards Uniform Book Prices
In what is sure to become a hotly contested issue, the government of Quebec is looking at legislation that would make book prices mandated by the publishers and nearly unchangeable by the retailers. In what was supposed to be a move to give the independent booksellers a leg up over major chain retailers, online retailers, AND ebook distributors, the publishers would set one … [Read more...] about Quebec Considers Move towards Uniform Book Prices