EU investigations are generally slow, even by government standards, but in the case of disputes between publishers and Amazon over terms, the Competition Commission is taking a rare lead, at least in terms of inquiry. Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters in London in an aside that “we are trying to understand what’s going on there. We are looking into this and trying to understand.” The short Reuters piece focuses on Amazon and French-based Hachette/Lagardere, but if they are looking into steps taken by Amazon to influence terms negotiations, it’s logical that they might talk to Bonnier about their experiences in Germany […]
