Did you buy an ebook in the last two years? Amazon is notifying customers of the potential for a refund and other retailers will soon follow suit. The process is part of a long, complicated class action proceeding. Read more »
Thirty states have bagged $52 million from publishers as part of a price fixing investigation involving Apple. More money is on the way. While state leaders say the money is for overcharged consumers, legal and antirust experts say the arrangement is unusual. Read more »
Ray Bradbury was right about so many things that it almost hurts to write this: he was wrong when it came to reading. But then I also get to tell you this: he changed his mind. HarperCollins tells paidContent a digital backlist is in the works. Read more »
In a new pushback over its role in an ongoing e-book controversy, Apple said that Steve Jobs’ widely reported quotes on Amazon and book publishers “will speak for themselves.” The company also denied again that it conspired to fix e-book prices. Read more »
“If you buy a digital book you should be able to read it on anything you want to read it on”, said Pottermore CEO Charlie Redmayne at paidContent 2012. Read more »
In a strongly worded opinion, US District Judge Denise Cote rejected requests by Apple and book publishers to throw out a class action suit that accuses them of price-fixing. Read more »
Some e-book buyers embrace a little friction, says Joe Esposito at The Scholarly Kitchen. Read more »
Pottermore CEO Charlie Redmayne joins us at paidContent 2012: At The Crossroads.for a look at what it takes to take a beloved brand digital — and the DRM strategy for J.K. Rowling’s insanely popular Harry Potter collection. Read more »
Book publishers argue that Amazon is a vicious monopoly that has too much power over them and their content. But they need to realize they gave Amazon much of that power themselves when they agreed to shackle all of their books in DRM chains. Read more at GigaOM »
The lawsuits over price-fixing in the e-book market took a new twist today after a HarperCollins lawyer predicted that three publishers could reach a settlement with all 50 state governments in the next two months. Read more »
Our primer to today’s DOJ lawsuit against five publishers and Apple — how we got here and what comes next. Read more »
At least two of the big-six publishers are refusing to sign new annual contracts with Amazon. While that could result in their “buy” buttons being turned off, it is more likely that the feud will result in less promotion of big-six publishers’ titles on the site. Read more »
Days after paidContent reported that Amazon has indefinitely suspended its approval program for newspapers on Kindle, Amazon has relented and kickstarted the process for at least one publisher caught up in the backlog. Read more »
Anti-trust investigations are supposed to be tight-lipped affairs in which all sides lawyer up until the case settles or goes to trial. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work at least. But in the case of book publishers and Apple, people are tossing legal duties to the wind in the hopes that press leaks will shape a settlement. Read more »
The majority of U.S. public libraries now offer e-books, but libraries’ relationships with book publishers are fraught, says the American Library Association in its 2012 annual report. Read more »
In a move to build community and learn more about its customers, mid-sized publisher Sourcebooks is launching a romance e-book club that gives members e-books, discounts and access to online parties and live events for $9.99 for six months. Read more »
By requiring retailers to encrypt e-books with DRM, big publishers are essentially banning online indie bookstores and increasing their own dependence on the whims of Apple and Amazon. Emily Gould and Ruth Curry of Emily Books look at the problem DRM poses indie booksellers. Read more »
Google is reportedly ending its program that allows independent booksellers to sell Google e-books through their websites. Below is the full letter that the American Booksellers Association sent to members announcing the news. Read more »
