pdating our stories from the heat of battle Wednesday, there are a few things about the settlement between HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster and the Department of Justice that we can clarify. First of all, don’t expect any immediate changes at any ebookstore, including Apple’s iBookstore. All of the requirements for contractual changes will come only after entry of final judgment, which is subject to a review period of 60 days. During that period, “any person who wishes to comment” is welcome to write to: John Read Chief Litigation III Section Antitrust Division U.S. Department of Justice 450 […]
Legal
States’ Lawsuit Tells Similar Story, But Shares Other Details
The separate lawsuit alleging horizontal conspiracy against Apple and the original five agency publishers has been filed–and will be litigated–in Texas, where the Attorney General’s office began a “non-public investigation” in March 2010 (first revealed by PL in June 2010). The filing dovetails in many respects with the Department of Justice’s Federal lawsuit, though they depict portions of the story in their own way. By their telling it was “by no later than the end of summer 2009” that the “conspiring publishers reached an agreement that something had to be done to end Amazon’s $9.99 pricing of NYT-bestsellers.” Among other […]
Hachette Admits No Liability, and Asks Government to Ensure “We don’t return to the days of monopoly”; Harper “Made A Business Decision”
Hachette Book Group says in a statement that “after much deliberation” they have “reluctantly agreed to join the settlement of this matter with the U.S. Department of Justice, and to begin the process of settling with the State Attorneys General.” But “Hachette was not involved in a conspiracy to illegally fix the price of eBooks, and we have made no admission of liability.” In a separate statement, HarperCollins also says the company “did not violate any anti- trust laws and will comply with its obligations under the agreement. HarperCollins’ business terms and policies have been, and continue to be, designed […]
Settling Publishers Are Allowed Modified Agency for Two Years That Could Limit Predatory Pricing
HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group and Simon & Schuster have settled the Justice Department’s lawsuit over agency ebook pricing, officially filed earlier Wednesday. Under the settlement, they promise for two years not to “restrict, limit, or impede an e-book retailer’s ability to set, alter, or reduce the retail price of any e-book or to offer price discounts or any other form of promotions to encourage consumers to Purchase one or more e-books.” They also “shall not enter into any agreement with an e-book retailer relating to the sale of e-books that contains a price MFN” during that period, and they will […]
Details From the DOJ’s Lawsuit
In their lawsuit against Apple and five agency publishers, the Department of Justice claims “the evidence showing conspiracy is substantial.” In the broadest terms, Justice charges that the defendants “shared their business information, plans, and strategies in order to formulate ways to raise retail e-book prices.” It appears that Justice is actually charging two separate conspiracies. The earlier one they say began “no later than September 2008” and involves a number of meetings regarding a possible “joint venture” to sell ebooks together as well as “telephone conversations and other communications in which they jointly acknowledged to each other the threat […]
Sargent: “Macmillan did not act illegally. Macmillan did not collude.”
Macmillan ceo John Sargent released a letter to the company’s authors, illustrators and agents explaining their position in declining to settlement the lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Department of Justice: “The charge is civil, not criminal. Let me start by saying that Macmillan did not act illegally. Macmillan did not collude.” As Sargent recalls poignantly, “It is … hard to settle a lawsuit when you know you have done no wrong. The government’s charge is that Macmillan’s CEO colluded with other CEO’s in changing to the agency model. I am Macmillan’s CEO and I made the decision to move Macmillan […]