Office Of Fair Trading To Investigate Ebook Agency Model

[Not before time. But it needs to result in allowing publishers to set their 'factory gate' prices; otherwise they, and authors, become slaves to the gorrilla retailers.]
Office Of Fair Trading To Investigate Ebook Agency Model 
Posted at 5:11PM Tuesday 01 Feb 2011 

Following a number of complaints, the OFT would be looking into whether "arrangements that certain publishers have put into place for the sale of e-books may breach competition rules."
http://www.booktrade.info/i.php/31743
http://www.techeye.net/hardware/office-of-fair-trading-to-invesitigate-ebook-agency-model
'...The investigation will be under the Competition Act 1998 which prohibits agreements, practices and conduct that may have a damaging effect on competition in the UK
...'
http://futurebook.net/content/when-agents-go-bad
'...This is not the only investigation into agency pricing, there are already two ongoing in the US, but its results are likely to be examined the world over, particularly if it allows Amazon a base from where it can sell cheap English-language digital books across the world...'
[This misses the point that Amozon's alternative decides at what price Amazon BUYS FROM publishers. The main difficulty is that any big organisation deciding will destroy small business.]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704124504576118331673014792.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
"...Unlike other European countries, many of which prevent retailers from selling books at discounted rates under laws meant to protect independent booksellers, the U.K. generally does not regulate the retail prices for books. That makes the British book market similar to that of the U.S. 
..."
[There used to be a Resale Price Mainentance Act in the UK, which did mirror for all goods the old Book Agreement.]






Joseph Harris is Smile Poet
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