Prior to the arrival of other sources of ebooks from Barnes & Noble and Apple’s iBooks, Amazon appeared to have a monopoly on the ebook industry with their offerings and their very own ebook reader, the Kindle. As some of you guys are probably aware, Apple and other major publishers are currently facing a lawsuit from the Department of Justice over alleged ebook price fixing. The lawsuit alleges that Apple and these publishers have colluded in order to raise prices in the ebook market. However one particular US Senator, Charles Schumer of New York, has appealed to the DOJ to drop the lawsuit against Apple and the other publishers.
Schumer believes that “the suit will restore Amazon to the dominant position atop the e-books market it occupied for years before competition arrived in the form of Apple. If that happens, consumers will be forced to accept whatever prices Amazon sets.” He also claims that thanks to the entrance of Apple’s iBooks into the market, Amazon’s market share fell from 90% to 60%, thus increasing competition and forcing Amazon to become more creative in their offers, innovation and pricing. We’re not sure if Schumer will be able to influence the DOJ’s lawsuit, but he does make a pretty good argument. What do you guys think?
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