“New York, the District of Columbia and fifteen other states have joined the e-book pricing class action suit against Apple, Macmillan and Penguin, bringing the total number of states involved so far to 31 (if you include DC and Puerto Rico),” Laura Hazard Owen reports for paidContent. “The amended complaint, released Friday, reveals details that were previously redacted, including an e-mail from Steve Jobs.”
Owen reports, “In late January 2010, Steve Jobs became directly involved in the agency pricing negotiations ‘after Eddy Cue could not secure one of the Conspiring Publisher’s commitment directly from an executive.’ Jobs ‘wrote to an executive at the parent company, in part:'”
As I see it, [Conspiring Publisher] has the following choices:
1. Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream ebooks market at $12.99 and $14.99.
2. Keep going with Amazon at $9.99. You will make a bit more money in the short term, but in the medium term Amazon will tell you they will be paying you 70% of $9.99. They have shareholders too.
3. Hold back your books from Amazon. Without a way for customers to buy your ebooks, they will steal them. This will be the start of piracy and once started, there will be no stopping it. Trust me, I’ve seen this happen with my own eyes.
Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see any other alternatives. Do you?
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This is one of the stupidest lawsuits ever.
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