Does Apple And Other Publishers Trying To Break Amazon’s Own Monopoly On eBook Market?

Posted on Apr 24 2012 - 6:54am by Editorial Staff

The US Department of Justice recently filed a lawsuit against Apple and several publishers alleging that they have been collaborating to raise the price of ebooks, but The Wall Street Journal seems arguing that does Apple and other publishers are trying to break Amazon’s own monopoly on the ebook market. The Justice Department fails to acknowledge anywhere in its 36-page complaint against Apple and book publishers that this is the standard approach. The government says this “agency model” is inherently wrong and “would not have occurred without the conspiracy among the defendants.”

Gordon Crovitz, “thanks to the agency model, the Kindle’s market share has fallen to 60 percent [from 90 percent] thanks to competition from iPads and Barnes & Noble Nooks, and there is more variation in consumer prices, typically ranging from $5.95 to $14.95.” Apple takes the same 30 percent cut from games and other apps as it does from ebooks and newspapers, which could make a price-fixing case harder to argue. Crovitz focuses primarily on what he sees as Apple fighting Amazon’s “anti-competitive business model.”

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