Justice Dept. threatens Apple, book publishers with collusion lawsuit
24 replies, posted
[quote]
The Justice Department is threatening to sue Apple and five major US publishers for allegedly colluding to raise the price of digital books, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, said several of the parties have held talks to head off an antitrust case but not every publisher is in settlement discussions.
The Journal identified the five publishers as CBS Corp.’s Simon & Schuster, Lagardere SCA’s Hachette Book Group, Pearson’s Penguin Group (USA); Macmillan, a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, and HarperCollins, a unit of News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal.
European antitrust officials announced in December that they were conducting a similar probe into Apple and the five international publishers to determine whether they had struck illegal deals to fix the prices of electronic books in Europe.
The Journal said Apple persuaded publishers to change how they price their e-books before the introduction of the iPad in April 2010. Apple unveiled the third-generation of the tablet computer on Wednesday.
Prior to the introduction of the iPad, online retail giant Amazon, maker of the Kindle e-book reader, sold electronic versions of many new best sellers for $9.99.
But Apple forced a change in pricing for e-books when the iPad emerged as a rival reading platform to the Kindle, moving publishers to a model which calls for publishers to set book prices and for Apple to take a 30 percent cut.
According to the Journal, Apple also included a stipulation that publishers would not let rival retailers sell the same book at a lower price.
The newspaper said the Justice Department’s view is that Apple and book publishers acted in concert to raise prices and it is prepared to sue them for violating federal antitrust laws.
An unidentified publishing executive told the Journal that a “settlement is being considered for pragmatic reasons but by no means are we close.”
The newspaper said a settlement between Apple, the publishers and the Justice Department could potentially lead to cheaper e-books for consumers.
A New York federal court is also currently considering class action suits filed in connection with e-book pricing, according to the Journal.[/quote]
[url]http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/08/pple-book-publishers-facing-potential-collusion-lawsuits-wsj/[/url]
Yes
YES
If anything, digital books should be cheaper. Why should I pay more for a digital copy over a physical one?
Paying over $10 for any ebook is pretty absurd, especially paperbacks that you could pick up at a used bookstore for $5 or less.
[QUOTE=OrangeElimin;35060620]Yes
YES
If anything, digital books should be cheaper. Why should I pay more for a digital copy over a physical one?[/QUOTE]
And how Apple wants them exclusively on iBooks.
[QUOTE=Blanketspace;35060651]Paying over $10 for any ebook is pretty absurd, especially paperbacks that you could pick up at a used bookstore for $5 or less.[/QUOTE]
Well, they have to make money somehow.
Apple is gonna get sour.
I wonder how much of it is Apple and how much of it is the publishers? They're trying very hard to protect their revenue (When iBooks launched over here there was nothing but public domain books, because local stores and publishers didn't like eBooks)
Apple is rotten to its core.
Just because it's digital doesn't mean it should be more expensive.
[QUOTE=The golden;35061527]
Not a single part of me doubts that Apple is behind this 100%.[/QUOTE]
well uh
that's nice
but the people actually filling the suit name 5 book publishers too, so unless you know something they don't that assertion is completely baseless.
[QUOTE=The golden;35061527]Have you seen the stunts Apple has been pulling lately? Like, at all?
...[/QUOTE]
What do you mean by stunts? I would honestly like to know what you're referring to.
Karma is a bitch
[sp]I dont believe actually in karma though, but they really deserve getting shit back at them for all these pointless lawsuits they have been throwing at every smartphone manufacturer that exist[/sp]
do it
[QUOTE=Red scout?;35062396]Karma is a bitch
[sp]I dont believe actually in karma though, but they really deserve getting shit back at them for all these pointless lawsuits they have been throwing at every smartphone manufacturer that exist[/sp][/QUOTE]
Yeah, its not like they flood Apple with lawsuits!
Good, Apple needs to be sued by the DoJ for all kinds of anticompetitive behavior.
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;35060662]Well, they have to make money somehow.[/QUOTE]
That doesn't mean they should be more expensive than physical books. They shouldn't even cost the same.
eBooks are made almost completely for free since they use Captcha to get free labor and don't need any materials like paper.
They shouldn't be free but they shouldn't cost as much as physical books either.
[QUOTE=ItsMozy;35062594]Yeah, its not like they flood Apple with lawsuits![/QUOTE]
So if you had a company that was constantly being senselessly harrased in court you would just sit there and do nothing about it?
[QUOTE=Blanketspace;35060651]Paying over $10 for any ebook is pretty absurd, especially paperbacks that you could pick up at a used bookstore for $5 or less.[/QUOTE]
Or on Amazon for even cheaper.
Dead trees and manufacturing pollution
or
Electronic and digital media
Which one really does cost more I wonder Apple
[QUOTE=sHiBaN;35064305]Dead trees and manufacturing pollution
or
Electronic and digital media
Which one really does cost more I wonder Apple[/QUOTE]
their investors
[QUOTE=inconspicious;35064061]So if you had a company that was constantly being senselessly harrased in court you would just sit there and do nothing about it?[/QUOTE]
What companies do you mean though? Since Apple is suing other companies and other companies are also suing Apple.
As an example, Motorola is trying to block the sale of the iPhone in Germany, Apple is counter-suing because they have their own patents they claim Motorola are infringing (this is normal practise for companies really), so who's in the wrong here?
And, Microsoft also claim Motorola is using patents to try to restrict the sales of their phones, does that make the situation any different? etc. It's not just "Apple vs. Everybody else" as people like to condense it down to.
[QUOTE=sHiBaN;35064305]Dead trees and manufacturing pollution
or
Electronic and digital media
Which one really does cost more I wonder Apple[/QUOTE]
I personally prefer physical copies over digital anyday for books, Has a better feel. And I feel like im getting the whole work of art.
Sue them, sue them for everything they got plus the CEO's leg.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.