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Amazon Offers To Scrap Ebook Clauses To Settle EU Antitrust Probe (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the Antitrust-Probe dept.

U.S. online retailer Amazon has offered to alter its e-book contracts with publishers in a bid to end an EU antitrust probe and stave off a possible fine, the European Commission said on Tuesday. From a report: Amazon, the biggest e-book distributor in Europe, proposed to drop some clauses in its contracts so publishers will not be forced to give it terms as good as those for rivals, the Commission said. Such clauses relate to business models, release dates, catalogs of e-books, features of e-books, promotions, agency prices, agency commissions and wholesale prices. The Commission opened an investigation into the company's e-books in English and German in June 2015, concerned that such parity clauses make it harder for other e-book retailers to compete with Amazon by developing new and innovative products and services. The EU competition enforcer gave rivals and customers a month to provide feedback before it decides whether to accept the proposal. Under EU antitrust rules, such settlements mean no finding of infringement nor fines which could reach 10 percent of a company's global turnover.

16 comments

  1. How would Amazon ever know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's not like the publishers tell Amazon what deals they have with other distributors.

    1. Re:How would Amazon ever know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Amazon can buy some shares in publishers and/or distributors and demand to see the deals as a shareholder

    2. Re: How would Amazon ever know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You can't do that any more than you can buy a share of Facebook and demand to see a breakdown of their diversity numbers. Owners (aka share holders) generally have no rights to business operations data.

  2. Wait a minute by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    Didn't Apple get slapped down for this sort of scheme, a few years ago, when they launched iBooks?

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:Wait a minute by Solandri · · Score: 2

      No, Apple got slapped down for a scheme where they colluded with publishers to raise ebook prices. In that case, their "give us the lowest price" clause forced publishers to charge Amazon and other ebook retailers higher prices to match Apple's prices.

      In this case, Amazon isn't colluding with the publishers to raise prices, so the clause just forces the publisher to give Amazon a lower price if they give another retailer a lower price. Still kinda sleazy (kind of a perpetual price-match policy; arguably unfair to publishers - I don't exactly see Amazon offering a perpetual price match policy for stuff I buy from them), but nowhere near as bad as what Apple tried to pull.

    2. Re:Wait a minute by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Their free return policy = a price match policy. I bought a Samsung TV for $1400+ dollars on Amazon. A week later it was $1200. I returned it for free and got another one at the $1200 price.

      Also, Amazon and Barnes & Noble colluded with Apple. They all got slapped. I remember it well because I got codes good for free books from all 3 as part of the settlement.

  3. shakedown by micahraleigh · · Score: 0

    Whoa, whoa, foreigners!

    You are TOO HARD to compete with!

    So please hand it over.

    Oh, and, by the way, Americans are xenophobic.

    Not us.

    We just take foreigners money we haven't earned. We're not afraid of them.

    1. Re:shakedown by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You wanna do business on my turf, you do it by my rules. Don't like it, fuck off.

      We're nothing if not adaptable. We learn Trump's ways faster than even he does.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:shakedown by houghi · · Score: 2

      I am sure AB InBev would LOVE to sell beer to 16 year olds in the US like they do in their home country Belgium.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    3. Re:shakedown by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Yeah, we think it's more acceptable to kill yourself than others. Hence you get beer with 16 and a driving license and gun with 18.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:shakedown by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      "You wanna do business on my turf, you do it by my rules. Don't like it, fuck off."

      Just as a reminder to enforce political correctness: this is only xenophobic if someone in the US says it.

  4. The Outcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since I'm writing a book right now and I have a publisher, I'm suddenly interested in the outcome of this, contrasting with my inability to give a shit in the past.

    1. Re: The Outcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I doubt the outcome makes any difference to you. This is all about bundling deals for bestsellers.

    2. Re: The Outcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not clear. The deals may or may not be uniform for all a publisher's books. In the event that they are then it does make a difference.

    3. Re:The Outcome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      contrasting with my inability to give a shit in the past.

      They have medicines for this. They're called laxatives.