Apple denies DoJ allegations of collusion, says it broke up Amazon monopoly
Spokesman Tom Neumayr provided a comment to All things D on Friday in defense of Apple's actions.
"The DOJâs accusation of collusion against Apple is simply not true," he said. "The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazonâs monopolistic grip on the publishing industry.
"Since then customers have benefited from eBooks that are more interactive and engaging. Just as weâve allowed developers to set prices on the App Store, publishers set prices on the iBookstore."
The Justice Department lodged its antitrust complaint against Apple and several book publishers on Wednesday after having first warned the companies of its intent to sue. The government agency alleges that Apple conspired with the publishers to enter an "agency model" for e-book sales and abandon Amazon's "wholesale model." The agency model allows the publishers to set their own prices for books, while the wholesale model let booksellers set prices.
Amazon established an early lead in the e-book market with its Kindle store, but it eventually became at odds with publishers because of its willingness to sell e-books at a loss. Publishing executives reportedly feared that the discounted books would have an impact on hardback pricing.
Court filings have revealed that Simon & Schuster, Hachette and HarperCollins have settled with the agency. As such, Penguin and Macmillan are the only two publishers left in the suit. Macmillan CEO John Sargent said the DoJ's terms were "too onerous" to accept.
Legal experts have said the Justice Department is unlikely to win against Apple, noting that it has a better case against the publishers. According to one antitrust professor, the government will need to show Apple "had some kind of involvement in the original arrangement" to win against Apple.
102 Comments
Rather than letting the market sort itself out, Apple worked with publishers to make book pricing more expensive by denying Amazon the ability to sell books at the prices it wanted to.
Sounds antitrust practice to me. Anyone was free to see books cheaper than Amazon and gain market share. It's not like the publishers were loosing money! They got their price whatever Amazon sold a book for.
Personally I dislike spin.
The people who lost out from this whole shenanigans was us, the consumer. That is why this is being investigated.
Rather than letting the market sort itself out, Apple worked with publishers to make book pricing more expensive by denying Amazon the ability to sell books at the prices it wanted to.
Sounds antitrust practice to me. Anyone was free to see books cheaper than Amazon and gain market share. It's not like the publishers were loosing money! They got their price whatever Amazon sold a book for.
Personally I dislike spin.
The people who lost out from this whole shenanigans was us, the consumer. That is why this is being investigated.
I checked your posting history. You never have anything good to say about Apple.
I checked your posting history. You never have anything good to say about Apple.
Why not actually critique his comment, rather than making an oblique slur of the poster?
I think of myself as a consumer, not an Apple apologist, and, frankly, I pay more for ebooks since Apple magnanimously "broke up" that mean old Amazon "monopoly".
Speak to that very valid point or continue to forego credibility.
Rather than letting the market sort itself out, Apple worked with publishers to make book pricing more expensive...
That's a pretty big accusation your presenting as fact without a single shred of evidence to back it up.
Maybe the DoJ should also investigate the same agency model Apple used for their App Store because those App Store apps are so expensive¡
Rather than letting the market sort itself out, Apple worked with publishers to make book pricing more expensive by denying Amazon the ability to sell books at the prices it wanted to.
Sounds antitrust practice to me. Anyone was free to see books cheaper than Amazon and gain market share. It's not like the publishers were loosing money! They got their price whatever Amazon sold a book for.
Personally I dislike spin.
The people who lost out from this whole shenanigans was us, the consumer. That is why this is being investigated.
Sounds like you need to add an extra layer of tinfoil to that hat of yours.
This was all about Amazon. Just check out their history before Apple got into the game and it's very apparent that Amazon was the bully.
Go spin elsewhere.