Fixed Prices for Ebooks in Germany: At What Cost?

Monika Grütters, German Federal Minister of Culture and the Media, called February 3rd “a good day for book culture in Germany,” referring to the day when the German Cabinet approved changes to the country’s fixed book price law to include digital books.

The changes still need to be approved by the Bundestag (the German parliament) and the Bundesrat (the Federal Council)—an approval that is more of a formality given the government support for this change. Once the law passes, both print books and ebooks will be sold for a single, fixed price across all sales channels.