While all of the publishers involved in Justice Dept.’s e-book price-fixing lawsuit have settled, Apple has continued to maintain its innocence. With the trial set to begin in early June, the DOJ has some evidence it believes paints Apple in a rather damning light. [More]
DOJ: Steve Jobs E-Mails Show That Apple Engaged In E-Book Price-Fixing
By May 15, 2013
Penguin Offers To Break Up With Apple To End European E-Book Anti-Trust Case
By April 19, 2013
After more than a year of squabbling with the European Commission in an anti-trust case involving Apple’s deals with five publishers that regulators called a conspiracy to fix the price of e-books, the last holdout might be close to settling up. Penguin has offered to ditch its e-book deal with Apple to end the antitrust probe. [More]
Court Ruling Highlights Huge Roadblock To Reselling Digital Content
By April 2, 2013
Even though huge online players like Amazon and Apple are working on ways to provide users a marketplace to resell “used” digital downloads like mp3s and e-books, neither plan really deals with the most salient problem with reselling digital products — getting rid of the original copy. [More]
Apple, Amazon Looking To Sell Used Digital Content
By March 8, 2013
When you purchase a digital download, do you actually own it? Some say yes, others say you’re just licensing its use from the copyright holder. This argument is only going to get more heated with news that both Apple and Amazon are looking into how to go about re-selling “used” digital content. [More]
MacMillan Agrees To Refund $20 Million Over E-Book Price-Fixing Claims
By February 11, 2013
And another one bites the dust. After refusing to join in an earlier settlement with three other publishers accused of colluding with Apple to fix prices on e-books, the folks at publishing biggie MacMillan have decided to settle with the U.S. Dept. of Justice for $20 million. [More]
Penguin Group Reaches Settlement With Justice Department Over E-Book Pricing
By December 19, 2012
The Justice Department is close to wrapping up one more piece of the e-book pricing dispute that’s been going on for months, announcing today it had reached a settlement with Pearson Penguin Group. The government had alleged that Penguin, four other publishers and Apple had been in cahoots to unfairly fix e-book prixes. [More]
Barnes & Noble Nook Virtual Store Zaps Me Wrong Book, Wouldn’t Take It Back
By December 6, 2012
Steve isn’t a big adopter of shiny new technology, but he found the Nook Color really appealing, and bought himself one as an early Hanukkah present. Then he went book-shopping. One $2.99 title looked appealing, so tap, tap, he purchased it. And received a different book instead that cost three times as much. Getting B&N to take the unwanted book back was more difficult than he had anticipated. [More]
Bookstore Combats E-Books With One Thing Your Kindle Can’t Offer
By November 13, 2012
Whatever benefits an e-book might have over its print counterpart, and no matter how close digital media gets to ink-on-paper, there is one thing that downloaded copy of Moby Dick can’t offer to some readers: The collectable factor. [More]
Google’s Settlement With Group Of Publishers Means You Can Read More Before You Buy
By October 4, 2012
It’s taken all of seven years and plenty of time in court, but Google and a group of publishers have finally reached an out-of-court settlement to resolve a dispute over the digitization of books for the Google Library Project. What does that mean? Hopefully that longer samples of books will be available in Google Play before consumers have to decide whether or not to buy it. [More]
Washington State Consumers To Get $2 Million In E-Book Price Fixing Settlement
By August 30, 2012
One of the first settlement amounts to be announced in a nationwide agreement between various states and a group of three of the country’s largest book publishers comes today, as Washington state says e-book consumers will receive $2 million over allegations of e-book price fixing. [More]
Soon Your Child Might Prefer A Bedtime E-Book Instead Of That Old Paper Thing
By July 18, 2012
The ritual of a bedtime story is a sacred one for many parents and their children — letting the kids turn the pages, pointing out colorful characters and enjoying the stories together. But while plenty of parents love the tradition of a paper book, e-books are gaining on physical books. [More]
Barnes & Noble Says Government’s Proposed Settlement Would Hurt E-Book Buyers
By June 7, 2012
Barnes & Noble isn’t down with what the Justice Department is selling in regards to a proposed settlement in the e-book price fixing lawsuit involving several book publishers. B&N says if the settlement goes through it will hurt not only the company, but consumers as well. [More]
Find-And-Replace Is Not A Good Idea When Porting Kindle Texts To Nook
By June 1, 2012
As any thrifty e-book reader knows, there are a ton of cheap and free public domain titles available for download. But one War and Peace reader in North Carolina was confused about the new word he saw among the 1,100 or so pages of the classic Tolstoy novel. [More]
Judge Cites Steve Jobs' Own Words In Refusing Dismissal Of E-Book Suit
By May 16, 2012
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ words came back to haunt the electronics company today. Its attempt to have a judge dismiss charges of e-book price-fixing were refused, in part because of things Jobs said during his time with Apple. [More]
Amazon Reportedly Set To Introduce Front-Lit Kindle In July
By May 14, 2012
Since the introduction of the iPad, e-book fans have generally fallen into two camps — those who prefer the E Ink technology in Kindles and Nooks because it causes less eye strain and uses relatively low battery power; and those who prefer the backlit screens of tablet computers, which allow them to read without the need for a secondary light source. The Nook has come up with one possible solution, and now Amazon is reportedly set to launch a Kindle that would use a front-lit system to allow people to read in the dark. [More]
Apple Willing To Stand Trial On E-Book Price-Fixing Allegations
By April 18, 2012
Even though three of the publishers accused of colluding with Apple to fix prices on e-books have already settled with the Dept. of Justice, the electronics giant continues to assert its innocence and wants the opportunity to answer the charges in court. [More]
New Nook With Reading Light Is Probably Cheaper Than A Divorce Lawyer
By April 13, 2012
Barnes & Noble has launched a new $139 version of its Nook Simple Touch e-reader with a lighted e-ink screen that promises you can read in bed without disturbing your sleeping spouse. [More]
Apple Insists They're Totally Not Fixing Any E-Book Prices
By April 13, 2012
In the midst of a lawsuit from the Department of Justice, Apple is all, “What? Who? Us? Price fixing e-books? No! Never!” They issued a statement saying they weren’t involved in conspiring with major publishers to set the price of e-books in an agency model, and that anyway, agency models are a benefit to the industry. [More]
