[From the article: “Terrified” by Amazon’s Kindle e-reader and
discounted e-book pricing, five major publishers allegedly acted together to
increase e-book prices and compel Amazon to abandon its discount sales
strategy. That’s the gist of a new class action antitrust lawsuit filed
in the US District Court for the Northern District of California by the Hagens Berman
litigation group. The five book sellers named in the suit are
HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, Penguin Group Inc., and Simon
& Schuster Inc, plus one more defendant: Apple. … The essence of the claim
is that these publishers, in coordination with Apple, conspired to nix the low
price e-books that Amazon launched in 2007. Amazon wanted to quickly gain
market share with its Kindle, the court filing observes, the first version of
which sold out in less than a quarter of a day. And so, capitalizing on its “first
mover” advantage, Amazon sold e-books at prices conspicuously lower than
physical books—many titles were made available for $9.99. This had to be
stopped, the class action charges.]
Apple,
publishers conspired against $9.99 Amazon e-books, says lawsuit
By Matthew Lasar | August
2011
