Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) looks set to get a
victory on an issue related to the pricing of its e-books in the European
Union, after competition regulators in the EU prepare to end an anti-trust
probe into e-book prices, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
The report said that the EU had decided to accept an
offer by Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) and four publishers to ease price restrictions
on Amazon.
This is good news for the online retailer in its
attempts to sell e-books at a cheaper price ran its rivals. Digital books are a
rapidly growing segment and without the costs of publishing associated with it,
it makes books more affordable to readers.
"Faced with years of court battles and
uncertainty I can understand why some of these guys decided to fold their cards
and take the whipping," said Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, an eBook
publisher and distributor that works with Apple, told Reuters.
A spokesman at the EU Commission said its
investigation was not yet finished, while Amazon and Apple declined to comment
Reuters said.
Companies like Apple and some publishers entered into
deals with retailers which prevented some other publishers from selling books
at price cheaper than Apple.
"The agreements, which critics say prevent Amazon
and other retailers from undercutting Apple's charges, sparked an investigation
by the European Commission in December last year," Reuters said.
According to the Reuters report, "The EU
antitrust authority, which in September asked for feedback from rivals and
consumers about the proposal, has not asked for more concessions, said one of
sources.
"The Commission is likely to accept the offer and
announce its decision next month," the source said on Tuesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment