“Apple and five publishers are to be investigated over anti-competitive practice in the e-book market, says the European Union’s anti-trust watchdog,” BBC News reports.
“As well as the tech giant, the inquiry centres on Hachette Livre, Penguin, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holzbrinck,” The Beeb reports. “The Commission said it would focus on alleged illegal agreements restricting competition in the EU.”
The Beeb reports, “The character and terms of agreements that the companies made with agencies are to be examined for breaches of EU rules on cartels, the Commission said… Apple’s iBook store [sic], which supplies e-books to the company’s iPad tablet computer and the iPhone, is likely to come under scrutiny.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Random House makes entire US catalog of 17,000 ebooks available on Apple’s iBookstore – March 2, 2011
Pearson, Peachpit titles now available in Apple’s iBookstore – November 17, 2010
Apple reveals self-publishing for iBookstore – May 27, 2010
Apple’s iBookstore for iPad to feature full Gutenberg Project catalog – 30,000 free e-books – March 25, 2010
iBookstore growth continues: Perseus inks e-book deal with Apple for iPad – March 22, 2010
Apple’s new world order: Pre-release, iPad has already begun to change digital publishing landscape – February 8, 2010
Why and how Apple killed the $9.99 e-book – February 06, 2010
Apple CEO Steve Jobs shows off iPad to TIME Magazine execs – February 05, 2010
Steve Jobs in secret New York meeting with top New York Times execs – February 04, 2010
Major textbook publishers ink e-textbook deals for Apple iPad, iBookstore – February 03, 2010
Apple iPad pushes Rupert Murdoch’s HarperCollins into e-book pricing talks with Amazon – February 03, 2010
Apple notches a ‘kill’ as Amazon rolls over in e-Book pricing war – February 03, 2010
Lexcycle strips USB book sharing feature from Stanza app at Apple’s request – February 02, 2010
In wake of Apple iPad debut, top publishers seek new pricing terms with Amazon – February 02, 2010
Amazon.com blinks; concedes to Macmillan on eBook pricing – January 31, 2010
Amazon.com pulls books from Macmillan from website after Apple unveils iPad and iBookStore – January 30, 2010
Apple locked in 11th-hour talks with book publishers; tablet could rewrite publishing business – January 26, 2010
Can Apple’s tablet save publishing? – January 23, 2010
Apple in tablet talks with McGraw-Hill, Hachette, Wiley over e-books – January 22, 2010
New York Times said to be wary of Apple tablet deal – January 21, 2010
Apple in discussions with nearly all (and most likely all) of the six largest trade publishers – January 20, 2010
New York Times ready to charge for access to its website; Apple tablet could be factor – January 19, 2010
Apple in talks with HarperCollins over tablet e-books – January 19, 2010
What does the EU know about competition?
A pretty strange comment, surely. Shows more about you than it does about the EU.
the united states federal reserve has agreed to effectively underwrite the euro mess by giving low interest rate loans to the europeans. it appears, as it has often during history, that the europeans want the u.s. to bail them out when they get in a mess and they really don’t understand competition since they are always needing supports to prop them up.
@ el Tritoma
You do understand that the US Federal Reserve is 12 private bank and not under the American People’s control in any shape or form. With that in mind, maybe you should rethink what you’re saying or do a little research so you will gather a little knowledge of your specialist subject.
Hey el Tritoma,
Did you see the latest antitrust story:
“The U.S. Justice Department confirmed Wednesday that it is conducting an antitrust investigation into the pricing of electronic books”
I guess that this means the US “really don’t understand competition” either!
Well then, grhakl, why didn’t you answer the question?
Every store could be said to be fixing prices. They all set the price to what the market will bare. If someone wants to undercut Apple, they are still free to do so.
Apple doesn’t set the price, the publishers do and if you remember it was the publishers that were colluding with each other before the deal was done.
Why isn’t Amazon included in this? If I remember correctly there was some articles that stated how Amazon was requiring the publishers to give the a better deal they they were giving Apple.
If this is the case, things don’t look good for the publishers but I can see where this might be a great boost for Apple.
This coming from an organization of countries that believe water doesn’t hydrate you
Macsnob = “How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?”
– Follow the links.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2011/nov/18/1?INTCMP=SRCH
Click to access 1982.pdf
Don’t perpetually live in the facile and parochial world of the dumbed-down mass-market media.,
Edumacte yourself.
Exhibits A and B: Nook and Kindle apps in the app store for free.
If Apple rejected those or forced B&N and Amazon to offer them as paid apps you might have a complaint.