It seems that Apple has been
in the news a lot lately, and not for its groundbreaking technological
gadgetry. What's going on? If you want to learn more about a big-time lawsuit
involving Apple and some other major players, then you've come to the right
place. Here is what you need to know about Apple, Macmillan, and ebook price
fixing:
The lawsuit.
In April of 2012, the United
States Department of Justice filed a large lawsuit against Apple and a
handful of major publishers, including Simon & Schuster, Hachette,
Penguin, HarperCollins, and Macmillan. The allegation is that these publishers
have been working together to keep the prices of ebooks unnecessarily high in
Apple's iBookstore and Amazon (as well as other, smaller online book
retailers), trumping Amazon's previously accepted standard price of $9.99.
According to federal lawmakers, this is in breach of United States antitrust
law.
Apple left to battle alone.
For a while, Macmillan was
holding strong with Apple, refusing to cave to the allegations. However, just
recently, Macmillan threw in the towel - not admitting to any wrongdoing but,
rather, citing financial limitations in the need to settle. According to
Macmillan, the economic strain of continuing the court battle could potentially
put the relatively small (when compared to the others) publisher. This leaves
Apple to toe the line alone, and Apple doesn't show any signs of backing down.
How will this end up for Apple? As of yet, we have no way of knowing. Apple's
legal proceedings are not scheduled to take place until June of 2013.
What the settlements mean for consumers.
These recent developments
could have seriously exciting implications for consumers. Not only does it
appear that prices will automatically be lower (some of the settling publishers
have already disclosed plans to lower prices), but it also seems that you can
expect to have a number of new ways to access the ebooks you love. These
include subscriptions to authors or genres of your choosing, monthly
memberships (picture unlimited ebook access) to publishers' and retailers' book
clubs, and ebook renting. While it will take at least sixty days for the settlements
to be reviewed and enacted by the court system, you can rest assured that, when
that waiting period is over, readers will rejoice from lower prices and
exciting new ebook options.
Apple
is, once again, in the midst of controversy. Fortunately, it appears that this
controversy could ultimately result in more money in your pocket book - and
more books on your ereader. Stay tuned to find out when, exactly, these changes
will reach you, the consumer.
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