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Judge Rules Apple Colluded With Publishers to Fix Ebook Prices

Posted by Unknown on from the captains-of-industry dept.

Despite many publishers themselves settling with the DOJ over allegations of price fixing ebooks, Apple held firm and recently went to trial. And now the verdict is in: Apple conspired with major publishers to control ebook prices in violation of anti-trust laws. A trial for damages has been ordered. Quoting Reuters: "The decision by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan is a victory for the U.S. government and various states, which the judge said are entitled to injunctive relief. ... Cote said the conspiracy resulted in prices for some e-books rising to $12.99 or $14.99, when Amazon had sold for $9.99. 'The plaintiffs have shown that the publisher defendants conspired with each other to eliminate retail price competition in order to raise e-book prices, and that Apple played a central role in facilitating and executing that conspiracy,' Cote said. 'Without Apple's orchestration of this conspiracy, it would not have succeeded as it did in the spring of 2010,' she added." Update: 07/10 16:36 GMT by U L : The ruling is now available (160 page PDF).

9 of 383 comments (clear)

  1. and yet Amazon is raising prices now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/business/as-competition-wanes-amazon-cuts-back-its-discounts.html?hpw&_r=0

    As Competition Wanes, Amazon Cuts Back Discounts
    By DAVID STREITFELD, NY Times
    Published: July 4, 2013

    "Jim Hollock’s first book, a true-crime tale set in Pennsylvania, got strong reviews and decent sales when it appeared in 2011. Now “Born to Lose” is losing momentum — yet Amazon, to the writer’s intense frustration, has increased the price by nearly a third.

    Jim Hollock wrote a true-crime story set in Pennsylvania.

    Mr. Hollock’s first book had decent sales when it appeared in 2011, but now that it is losing momentum, Amazon raised the price.

    “At this point, people need an inducement,” said Mr. Hollock, a retired corrections official. “But instead of lowering the price, Amazon is raising it.”

    Other writers and publishers have the same complaint. They say Amazon, which became the biggest force in bookselling by discounting so heavily it often lost money, has been cutting back its deals for scholarly and small-press books. That creates the uneasy prospect of a two-tier system where some books are priced beyond an audience’s reach."

    1. Re:and yet Amazon is raising prices now by LordLucless · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Maybe because it's not illegal to change your prices?

      And it's authors who are complaining? Authors are the ones who control the supply - if they're upset about other people controlling the pricing of their work, then maybe they shouldn't have sold that right off. The barrier to entry for distributing e-books is minuscule - if an author wants to maintain control over the distribution of their work, there is absolutely nothing stopping them these days.

      --
      Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
    2. Re:and yet Amazon is raising prices now by BemoanAndMoan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      if they're upset about other people controlling the pricing of their work, then maybe they shouldn't have sold that right off. The barrier to entry for distributing e-books is minuscule - if an author wants to maintain control over the distribution of their work, there is absolutely nothing stopping them these days.

      Wow, just no barrier to stupidity on the internet, is there. Do you realize how fantastically low the success rate is for e-books? No distribution, no public awareness, no marketing ... other than the seventeen people following you on twitter. I'm not saying publishers go out of their way to push every book (far, far from it) but without a physical presence on the bookshelves you chance of getting noticed or even an ounce of publicity is fantastically low.

      Your suggestion is akin to suggesting a farmer open a fruit stand instead of working with wholesalers.

      At this point you will likely point out one or two of those exceptions as some sort of straw man argument. Me, I've just worked in and around the industry for decades (on both sides).

      Authors control the supply ... I'm going to laugh about that one for a while.

  2. Almost not news by DeathToBill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hard to see how this was ever going any other way when the publishers involved all settled, including admissions of guilt in the settlement. According the the BBC, Apple will 'appeal against the ruling and fight "false allegations".' Apple has now definitively departed from the reality-based community.

    --
    Slashdot - News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters, in ISO-8859-1 Has just realised that beta makes this signature redundant
  3. What's going to happen by bobstreo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Everybody who ever bought any number of books will get a single $1-5 credit toward buying another book. States and Federal government will collect
    millions of dollars and fines.

  4. Ah! No, that is not the case. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    First off, no company evil and it can't be. A company isn't sentient, the people are.

    Group dynamics, dude.

    Groups act like a single entity - case in point military. It has been shown time and time again, put a person in a uniform and have them identify with the organization and you can get them to do just about anything. The Nazis were expert at this. (I will bitch slap the first person who improperly invokes Godwin's law on this!)

    It's the same with a company. When folks are working for a company, they identify with that company. That's why when speaking to a representative of a company and you slight the company - not them personally - many times they'll get irate as if you DID insult them.

    If a company "culture" can be just a like a personality. I mean, why is that the cell providers, satellite tv, airlines, and cable companies, even though they are made up of individuals, treat their customers like garbage and have no problems ripping them off?

    It's because of a company personality or "culture".

    So, yes a company CAN be Evil.

    1. Re:Ah! No, that is not the case. by oGMo · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, a company cannot be evil. Each and every one of the members of the company can, but the company cannot. A company doesn't exist without people

      No, a person cannot be evil. Each and every one of the cells in the body can be evil, but the person cannot. A person doesn't exist without cells.

      --

      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

  5. Re:one step in a series. by Nemyst · · Score: 5, Informative

    An e-book is a specially formatted text document which includes additional metadata making it easier to use on specialized e-book readers. Nothing more, nothing less. If you actually shop around, as opposed to just grabbing a Kindle, you'll notice that a lot of stores (and certain publishers in particular) do not put DRM on some books (I'm particularly impressed by Tor, who almost always have DRM-free copies available). DRM isn't fundamentally part of the "e-book", even though your post implies that publishers have successfully convinced you that it is.

  6. Re:Why shouldn't they be free to decide their pric by Nemyst · · Score: 5, Informative

    You don't understand what collusion is, do you? The sellers specifically conspired together to artificially raise prices, which bypasses the normal supply and demand pricing and allows them to do whatever the hell they wish. If we'd actually allow such a thing, you'd see a lot of goods suddenly inflate in price for no reason whatsoever because by colluding corporations can lock you out of any alternative. Collusion breaks the principle of a free market by removing competition.