The ABA and Barnes & Noble have gotten together on something: they requested permission from Judge Denise Cote to file an amici curiae brief on the pending ebook pricing settlement. In a proposed order for the judge, they ask to submit a brief of up to 10 pages on the Department of Justice’s filed response to the public’s comments submitted under the Tunney Act, along with a response of up to 5 pages on Justice’s motion for entry of proposed final judgment in the case. Justice now has the option of opposing their request before Judge Cote rules on it. […]
DOJ
Though 92 Percent of Comments Oppose Settlement, Justice Is Unmoved
Per our report on Friday, the Department of Justice published the public comments on the proposed ebook pricing settlement with Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster on Monday morning, along with a 64-page summary and response. DOJ received 868 comments in all, 92 percent of which opposed the settlement, while “nearly [but not quite] seventy of those comments favored the suit and settlement.” Of those writing in favor, “several” of the submissions from 52 “readers and consumers” were similar to an online form letter. It will be no surprise that the DOJ is unpersuaded by any of the […]
Where’s Chuck? Schumer Says DOJ eBook Pricing Case “Empowered Monopolists and Hurt Innovators”–In An Op-Ed
New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who represents many of the estimated 50,000 or so New Yorkers employed by the publishing industry, has finally stirred himself to comment on the Department of Justice’s ebook pricing case. For now, he does so in a venue with no real consequences, penning an op-ed column in the Wall Street Journal. Schumer writes: “I am concerned that the mere filing of this lawsuit has empowered monopolists and hurt innovators. I believe it will have a deterrent effect not only on publishers but on other industries that are coming up with creative ways to grow and […]
With Over 800 Comments, Justice Plans to Post and Reply In About A Week
As a follow-up to our Monday story wondering when the Department of Justice will publish the public comments on the proposed ebook pricing settlement, along with their replies, the Antitrust Division’s Mark Ryan wrote to Judge Cote yesterday in answer to Bob Kohn’s complaint. Notably, Ryan says DOJ received over 800 comments, “as many as half” of which “arrived within a few days of or after the comment deadline.” Ryan tells the Judge the department is “working expeditiously” to publish the comments and their replies, and without giving a firm deadline indicates they intend to do so “approximately two weeks” […]
With Comments on DOJ Proposed Settlement Still Unavailable, Kohn Tells Court the Government is Violating the Tunney Act
June 25 was technically the deadline not only for public comments on the Department of Justice’s proposed settlement with Hachette, Harper, and Simon & Schuster, but also for Justice’s publication of those comments along with their replies. But as of Tuesday morning, more than two weeks after the deadline, there was no sign of any of these comments on the DOJ’s website. Even though the government now has one extra week–until August 3–to file its motion for entry of a proposed final judgment on the settlement, the opportunity for Judge Denise Cote to evaluate that voluminous number of comments shrinks […]
The Scheduling Order for the eBook Price Fixing Trial
Earlier this week when we reported on the June 3, 2013 bench trial date scheduled by Judge Denise Cote for the DOJ’s ebook price fixing suit against Apple, Macmillan, and Penguin, we weren’t sure of the exact schedule she had in mind. It took a while to appear on the docket but we now know the court’s official scheduling order. All parties, including the DOJ, State attorneys general, and the three defendants, must submit an amended Joint Official Report taking into account the June 22 rulings by July 6. They must then contact Judge Kimba Wood about scheduling settlement discussions […]