http://allthingsd.com/20120723/feds-...rs-gonna-hate/
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But since you may have better things to do with your Monday, a quick summary of the DOJ’s response:
Not surprisingly, the DOJ says all of the complaints about its settlement with HarperCollins, Hachette and Simon & Schuster over e-book pricing are from self-interested whiners. In their words: “Many critics of the settlements view the consequences of the conspiracy — higher prices — as serving their own self-interests, and they prefer that unfettered competition be replaced by industry collusion that places the welfare of certain firms over that of the public.”
You can’t accuse the DOJ lawyers of immodesty. They suggest that three recent announcements — that Microsoft would invest in Barnes & Noble’s Nook platform; that Microsoft is going to produce its own Surface tablets; and that Google would sell its own Nexus 7 tablets — prove that “more companies are investing to enter or expand in the market and compete against Amazon, Apple”, and they suggest that they should get some credit for this.
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If agency model replaces wholesale for everything....
MSRP will become MRP. Same price of everything where nothing can ever go on sale.
Stores don't have to compete with discount.
Manufacturers win. Retailers win. Customers lose.
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The DoJ also rejected an implication it said it drew from the Authors Guild submission, that price-fixing should be permitted in the publishing industry because of the cultural role books play in society. “An argument that a particular industry or market deserves a blanket exemption from the antitrust laws should be directed to Congress, rather than the United States or the court,” the DoJ stated.
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Would Congress vote for price-fixing? (it's the norm for books in France, Germany and Spain).
868 public comments:
70 in favor of settlement
798 opposed
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The DOJ received 868 public comments to the proposed settlement, with nearly 70 in favour of the settlement and the remainder opposing it. "Most of these came from publishers, authors, agents and bookstores that acknowledged an interest in higher retail e-book prices," the DoJ noted.
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