DoJ Files Suit Against Apple, Ebook Publishers 235
forkfail writes "The Department of Justice has filed suit against Apple and a number of book publishers, including Hachette SA, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster, claiming that they worked in collusion to artificially rig prices on eBooks."
Re:Having solved all other problems (Score:5, Insightful)
I hope they get raked over the coals for this (Score:5, Insightful)
And regardless, I hope the publishers get crushed on this one. While I won't go so far as to suggest that they don't serve any useful purpose anymore (as some people do), they _are_ dinosaurs and need to be dragged into 21st century competition. This should do it.
Re:Having solved all other problems (Score:5, Insightful)
Finally the E-Book Publishers are getting caught (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
Well. Since ebooks seem to be priced at higher than print book prices....no. no they are not cheap at all.
Re:Having solved all other problems (Score:2, Insightful)
You'll never get gas price rigging solved.
The Republicans don't want it solved, they've blocked EVERY attempt to put proper regulation on the oil speculation market (which is where the prices are being driven up far beyond normal market pricing) because they get tons of donations from the oil speculators and kickbacks from oil industry execs in exchange for federal subsidies.
Re:Just wrong on all counts (Score:5, Insightful)
I have the same book in the other bookstores. I have no control over the price. They give me what they want, which is half of what Apple gives me.
If you have control over whether it's in those other bookstores, then, yes, you do have control over the price. You don't like their terms, don't publish it there. That's how you control it.
Re:I hope they get raked over the coals for this (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Having solved all other problems (Score:5, Insightful)
It has nothing to do with whoever is in office. The US has no control over an internationally traded commodity and never will. The US can only *temporarily* affect the market. The US can dump several million barrels on the market and OPEC will just cut production the same amount. No effect. So regardless of which party you hate they can do nothing and anyone claiming they can is a liar.
Until the US can import no oil at all they are subject to the international price and even then I am not certain though I would think you would have more power to control domestic prices if it is all internal. Now the subsidies are another matter, but I don't know enough about them to know whether they are having an effect, positive or negative, on domestic oil prices.
Re:I hope they get raked over the coals for this (Score:5, Insightful)
The issue in this case is that there _is_ evidence that the publishers collectively decided to adhere to the same pricing scheme. That is illegal.
Re:I hope they get raked over the coals for this (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple will not be toast.
Worst case they pay a small (for them) fine without admitting wrongdoing, and promise never to do it again. What happens then?
Well, Apple can sell their books at cost or below because their profit comes from hardware. The iTunes store is a tiny blip in Apple's revenue, and ebooks a small part of that tiny bit. The publishers can raise the price Apple, Amazon, and others pay for ebooks, and will to preserve their income. Amazon gives away their hardware at cost, so somewhere they need to start making profit on media. It is widely believed that Amazon is selling many books below publisher's cost in order to drive others out of the business. Once it is clear that Apple can (and will because they have lost the agency model) match Amazon's prices and is in the ebook business to stay, Amazon won't be so anxious to lose money. Then prices will come back to where they have been, maybe even higher.
Apple still breaks records every quarter, Amazon chugs along on its slow growth curve, the publishers keep making some money, and 99% of authors still starve. Nothing's going to change.
Re:I hope they get raked over the coals for this (Score:5, Insightful)
Nobody is getting 'crushed' on this. At worst, a couple of publishers and Apple will pay a fine. Most likely they will sign something that said 'we didn't really do anything, but we agree not to do it again'. Some lawyers will make money. The DOJ lawyers will carve another notch in their desks.
Consumer prices won't go down. (But they will go up).
Re:Having solved all other problems (Score:5, Insightful)
Do you have an example of a major textbook that's "far cheaper" in ebook format?
Usually I see at most a 10-20% difference. For that you get a book you cannot write in, and which has no resale value. Many paper textbooks can be resold for 40-50% of their purchase price.
Re:I hope they get raked over the coals for this (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I hope they get raked over the coals for this (Score:5, Insightful)
You couldn't be more wrong, as is apparent from the fact that prices went up, not down.
This was not a case of Apple coming in and saying 'Amazon is selling books for $10 - that is too much. We want a better price than that.' This WAS a case of Apple saying 'Amazon is selling books for $10 - that is too little. We want to sell them for $20. BTW - make sure Amazon can no longer sell them for $10.'
Re:I hope they get raked over the coals for this (Score:4, Insightful)
Damn right there's blatant price-fixing. Most people I know who own ebook readers pirate the things just out of spite because of the prices. Nothing quite like seeing prices like this:
$9.35 kindle
$7.99 kobo
$3.99-4.99 paperback
Yeah fuck and you guys. If I already own a copy, I'd be pirating it at that price too.