Australia’s publishing (and bookselling) business has remained protected by “parallel import restrictions” that have kept the country relatively de-Amazoned — but just as American antitrust law has been favoring low consumer prices over market consolidation, the Australian government is prioritizing lower prices for books over protecting the local publishing business. The Australian Government Productivity Commission just issued a draft report on intellectual property arrangements that recommends repeal of parallel import restrictions for books “in order for the reform to take effect no later than the end of 2017.” Authors and publishers are lining up quickly in opposition to the proposal. Authors Thomas Keneally, […]
