American Booksellers Association
Three independent bookstores have filed a class action suit against Amazon and all of the big-six publishers, alleging that the proprietary digital rights management tools Amazon uses on ebooks serve to create a monopoly. The indies say publisher contracts calling for the use of this DRM, which like most forms of DRM prohibits readers from copying ebooks or reading them on non-authorized devices, restrain ebook sales and that Amazon “has unlawfully monopolized or attempted to monopolize the market for ebooks in the United States.”
The holiday season was not a happy one for Barnes & Noble, judging by latest sales figures released by the company.
Sales of their Nook products, which Barnes & Noble has been pushing over the past several months, dropped 12.6 percent to $311 million over the shopping season and total sales of retail operations also experienced a steep decline, dropping 10.9 percent to $1.2 billion. The company did not release sales figures detailing the number of Nook e-readers sold.
For Barnes & Noble, the digital future is not what it used to be.
After a year spent signaling its commitment to build its business through its Nook division, Barnes & Noble on Thursday announced disappointing holiday sales figures, with steep declines that underscored the challenge it faces in transforming from its traditional retail format.
CM Books, will be at exhibiting at the 2012 PubWest Show, October 25-27 at Keystone Resort and Conference Center, Keystone, Colorado.
The event includes Keynotes by Oren Teicher, CEO of American Booksellers Association; Otis Chandler, CEO and cofounder of Goodreads; and Len Vlahos, executive director of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), and 30 exhibitors and sponsors.
Updated In a decision that could start an e-book price war in the publishing industry, a federal judge on Thursday approved a settlement between the Justice Department and three major publishers in a civil antitrust case that accused the companies of collusion in the pricing of digital books.
The long-expected approval soundly rejected criticisms of the deal that had accumulated throughout the summer from hundreds of parties, including Barnes & Noble, the Authors Guild and the American Booksellers Association.
Kobo, a global leader in eReading, today unveiled its new Kobo Family of eReading devices: the Kobo Glo, Kobo Mini, Kobo Touch and the Kobo Arc – a 7” Android tablet. Designed by booklovers for booklovers, the new Kobo Family starts at $79.99 and provides readers with more choice and more ways to personalize their eReading experience than ever before – including new stylish colors, accessories, lighting and multimedia options.
Watchmen it ain't, but the brief condenses complex arguments admirably. The anti-trust case against Apple, Macmillan and Penguin, all accused of conspiring to fix ebook prices, thunders on, but one part of it is shortly to come to a close. Three of the originally accused publishers – HarperCollins, Hachette and Simon & Schuster – agreed to settle with the Department of Justice in April this year, and that settlement is finally coming through.
Starting in October, Kobo devices and e-books will be on offer at independent bookshops through a new deal with the American Booksellers Association (ABA), according to a statement from the Toronto-based e-bookseller this morning.
In January, a deal between the ABA and Google books that was intended to give independent booksellers purchase in the growing e-book market is set to expire, leaving the stores without a way to sell e-books. According to Google and independent booksellers, the program wasn’t much of a success for most of its nearly 400 participants.
In its response to recent filings from Apple, publishers and booksellers on its proposed ebook settlement with three publishers, the Department of Justice addresses few specific complaints (PDF; full filing embedded below). Rather, citing the “unmistakable consumer harm that has resulted from the conspiracy in this case,” the DOJ calls on Judge Denise Cote to approve the settlement without a hearing.
Last week, attorney Bob Kohn and the Authors Guild sought permission to act as “friends of the court” in the proposed settlement and filed amicus briefs.
In an amicus brief responding to the DOJ’s proposed ebook pricing settlement against Apple and publishers, attorney Bob Kohn says the DOJ unwittingly showed that Amazon used predatory pricing on ebooks, and asks that the DOJ’s investigation of Amazon be turned over to the court.