Parents, rejoice: If you can’t get your kid to look up from whichever screen is currently occupying his time, at least now he can get some good reading in: Harper Lee announced today, on her 88th birthday, that her classic To Kill A Mockingbird will finally be published as an e-book. [More]
e-books
Harper Lee’s Birthday Present To Readers: ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Will Be Published As An E-Book
By 4.28.14
Amazon Begins Issuing Credits From E-Book Price-Fixing Lawsuit
By 3.25.14
While Apple is still fighting the court’s ruling that it was involved in e-book price-fixing with America’s largest book publishing companies, those publishers have all reached settlements with the various regulators, attorneys general, and others over the same allegations that they colluded to set an inflated price on e-books. Today, Amazon began issuing credit to its customers who paid too much because of the publishers’ actions. [More]
Are Small Bookstores Committing Suicide If They Join Amazon’s New Kindle Program?
By 11.6.13
A common refrain among people in the book business — especially those in the independent bookselling market — is that Amazon is “out to kill small bookstores.” Depending on how one looks at it, the latest scheme from the online retail giant either bolsters or calls BS on that statement. [More]
Amazon Offering Discount E-Books On Previously Purchased Books (But The Selection Is Wanting)
By 10.29.13
Back in September, Amazon gave a vague launch window for its new MatchBook program, which allows customers who bought printed books from the e-tailer over the years to now have the option of buying an e-book version of those titles at a discount. Today, MatchBook finally launched, though only with around 75,000 titles included. [More]
Apple Makes Good On Pledge To Appeal E-Book Price-Fixing Ruling
October 4, 2013
Nearly three months after a federal court ruled that Apple had indeed conspired with the nation’s largest book publishers to anticompetively fix prices in the e-book market, the company has filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, possibly alleging that the court excluded important testimony that would have helped Apple’s defense. [via CNET] [More]
Can Oyster, The ‘Netflix For Books,’ Be Successful?
By 9.5.13
When Netflix launched its DVD-by-mail service, it seemed like a no-brainer business model — pay a reasonable amount of money each month and never have to go to the video store again. Netflix successfully transitioned that model to streaming video and it’s now been parroted by others, and not just in the video business. Spotify, Google, Mog, and others have launched music services based on the Netflix model. It seems inevitable that Netflix-for-e-books is the next step, but are the pieces in place for it to work? [More]
Dozens Of Dr. Suess Books Will Be Available In E-Editions For The First Time This Fall
By 9.4.13
When Dr. Seuss detailed all the various locations you could reasonably be expected to visit in Oh, The Place You’ll Go, he might not have realized that some day his books could travel with you in one slim e-book collection. But that future is now: Dozens of Dr. Seuss classics like aforementioned geographic romp/inspirational title, The Cat In The Hat, Green Eggs and Ham and more will be available for the first time as e-books starting Sept. 24. [via the Associated Press] [More]
Publishers: Proposal To Punish Apple Hurts Us Instead
By 8.8.13
Last week, the Justice Dept. offered its first proposal of how Apple should be punished now that it’s been found to have colluded with publishers to fix e-book prices. Among those suggestions is that Apple cancel its existing pricing arrangement with the publishers in question and that it not enter into similar arrangements for another five years. But publishers claim that this ultimately hurts the content providers and not the retailer. [More]
DOJ Proposal: Apple Must Let Amazon, Barnes & Noble Sell E-Books Through iOS Apps
By 8.2.13
Though there are Kindle and Nook apps for iPhone and iPad, restrictions put in place by Apple prevent users from actually making e-book purchases via those apps without those companies having to pay a hefty commission to Apple. You can’t even see the prices Amazon and Barnes & Noble charge for e-books, thus making it difficult to comparison shop. But as part of the proposed remedies following Apple’s loss in the recent e-book price-fixing case, the Justice Dept. says consumers should have the option of buying e-books on iOS devices from Apple’s competition. [More]
Judge: Apple Conspired With Publishers To Hike E-Book Prices
By 7.10.13
It’s been an up and down sort of day for Apple — while it managed to make peace with its rival Amazon in the App Store vs. Appstore debate, it also suffered a pretty big hit by way of a guilty verdict in the antitrust civil trial over e-book price-fixing. A U.S. District judge ruled today that Apple broke antitrust laws and conspired with publishers to hike up the prices of e-books. [More]
Apple Exec: I Protected Consumers From High E-Book Prices By Letting Publishers Set High E-Book Prices
By 6.13.13
Earlier today, Apple executive Eddy Cue — the architect of the company’s iTunes and e-book business — took the stand in court to face questions about his company’s role in alleged price-fixing of the e-book market, where he admitted that Apple had actually mulled over an even worse idea than mere price-fixing. [More]
DOJ: Steve Jobs E-Mails Show That Apple Engaged In E-Book Price-Fixing
By 5.15.13
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]
Penguin Offers To Break Up With Apple To End European E-Book Anti-Trust Case
By 4.19.13
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 4.2.13
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 3.8.13
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 2.11.13
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 12.19.12
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 12.6.12
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]
