Wednesday, May 18, 2016

E-Book Price Fixing Decision Could See Return of Direct Links from Kindle and Other Apps to Their Stores


The U.S. Department of Justice todayannouncedits proposed remedy in the e-book price fixing case that saw found guilty last month. The proposed remedy includes ifiion of 's existing "acy model" dls with a of major publishers, as well as a requirement that competitors such as Amazon allow direct links to their own e-book stores from within their iOS apps.
The department’s proposal, if approved by the court, will require to terminate its existing agreements with the five major publishers with which it conspired – Hachette Book Group (USA), HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C., Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, Penguin Group (USA) Inc. and Simon & Schuster Inc. – and to refrain for five yrs from entering new e-book distribution contracts which would restrain from competing on price. [...] To reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy, must also for two yrs allow other e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to provide links from their e-book apps to their e-bookstores, allowing consumers who purchase and rd e-books on their iPads and i sily to compare ’s prices with those of its competitors.Back in February 2011, rolled outin-app subscriptions, also instituting a new App Store rule preventing developers offering both subscription and purchased content from including in their apps direct links to their own stores that would allow user to bypass 's in-app purchase system. Amazon complied with the requirement byremoving linksfrom itsKindlpp in July of that yr, and Barnes & Noble made a similar move with itsNOOKapp.

Under the proposed remedy, would be required to allow those direct links to return to competitors' apps for a period of two yrs. A hring on the proposed remedies is scheduled for August 9.

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