As we suggested in June, the Apple ebook settlement fund of $400 million still had a substantial remainder of unclaimed funds after the primary distribution year expired. Between the Apple funds and the previous publisher settlements, there is still $84 million in consumer compensation credits available. so in early September Judge Denise Cote agreed to another distribution of the remaining funds. Counsel for the consumer class Hagens Berman tells PL that the new round of credits will be issued as of October 18, with the major ebooksellers preparing notifications to send to their customers. So another burst of free money […]
DOJ
Consumer Deadline — and A Pot of Leftover Money — Looms At Expiration of Apple Settlement Credits
The big Apple-funded pool of up to $400 million in consumer credits as a result of the ebook settlement agreement with the consumer class and state attorneys general began distribution about a year ago — which means that any unused or unclaimed credits will expire at the end of the day on June 24. Many retailers (and media outlets) are providing one last round of notification to customers to “use it or lose it.” But the really interesting question is what will happen next. Unclaimed funds will remain after the deadline expires, and given the size of the original settlement, […]
Legal: European Court Disallows Lower Tax for eBooks, Harper Responds In Canada
Responding to a query brought by the Polish Constitutional Court, the European Court of Justice has ruled that member states may not apply a lower value added tax to downloadable ebooks or other publications — even though lower taxes are allowed for books and other publications that are printed (and in turn, even digital books delivered by a physical medium, such as CD-ROM). The Court found that “to accept that the Member States are able to apply a reduced rate of VAT to the supply of digital books electronically, as is permitted for the supply of such books on all physical means of […]
Amazon Agrees to Break eBook Contractual Strangleholds In Europe
On Tuesday the European Commission announced proposed settlement “commitments” from Amazon to give up a variety of restrictive “parity clauses” in their ebook contracts with publishers across Europe, following a “preliminary assessment” reached on December 9, 2016 concluding “the clauses may breach EU antitrust rules and result in reduced competition among e-book distributors, and less consumer choice.” The new settlement comes quickly after Amazon’s Audible subsidiary agreed earlier this month to end its worldwide exclusivity agreements on digital audiobooks with Apple’s iTunes stores. The ebook settlement includes the publication of the EC’s “preliminary view” that Amazon “may violate EU antitrust rules” […]
Canada Reaches eBook Settlement with Apple and Three Publishers, Pursues HarperCollins
Canada’s Competition Bureau reached modest new consent agreements with Apple and three major publishers — Hachette, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster — related to the introduction of agency ebook pricing there. HarperCollins declined to settle, and the Commissioner of Competition is seeking harsher restrictions on the company’s ebook pricing as a result. Apple will drop all most favored nations clauses from their sales agreements with major ebook publishers (including Penguin Random House) for 3 years. The settling publishers agree to drop most favored nations clauses from their agreements with all ebooksellers in Canada for 3 years, and they will not “restrict, limit […]
Customers Will Finally Start Collecting On $400 Million in Consumer eBook Credits This Week
As we reported earlier this month, consumers who are eligible to receive part of the $400 million in compensation as part of Apple’s ebook antitrust settlement with the state attorneys general and the consumer class will be disbursed beginning on Tuesday. Consumers who have accounts at the major book retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple will receive a $6.93 credit for every ebook which was a New York Times bestseller, and a $1.57 credit for other purchased ebooks. (Consumers who opted to get their credits as checks will be sent those checks imminently.) Retailers will issue emails […]