June 3rd, 2013, the date which was set already for Federal eBook case against Apple, Macmillan and Penguin, but as per Wall Street Journal editorial Wednesday, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) warned the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) will ruin the publishing industry as Apple and two other major publishers could “wipe out the publishing industry as we know it” as it will lead to allow Amazon to regain a monopoly share of the market.
“The e-books marketplace provides a perfect example of the challenges traditional industries face in adapting to the Internet economy,” Sen. Schumer writes. “Amazon took an early lead in e-book sales, capturing 90% of the retail market. Because of its large product catalog, Amazon could afford to sell e-books below cost.”
“They could allow their books to be sold at the prices Amazon set, thus undercutting their own current hardcopy sales and the future pricing expectations for digital books—or stay out of the e-books market entirely,” Sen. Schumer said of major publishing houses. “In an increasingly digital age, the latter was simply not an option.”
(Image Source: Apple logo, Featured Image)
