Quote:
Originally Posted by Katsunami
Because as far as I know, there is only one Dutch book distributor left. There's no other way to get books written in Dutch. If they'd not sign the contract and take this to court first, then they'd not have any books to sell. Therefore I think the vendors are doing it the other way around: signing the contract and then see if they can get at least that clause invalidated.
This is not a publisher. It's a distributor. Centraal Boekhuis distributes (almost) ALL books written in Dutch, published by ALL publishers.
Please note:
On the blog, this is stated: "We work with a 3rd party to deliver the e-books to our consumers."
Normally a large online store has "JIT ordering" (Just In Time ordering). They ALWAYS have books in stock, because when you order one, they forward the order to the distributor, and the paper book is sent to you directly from the distributor to you. With regard to ebooks, this would even be easier of course; the download could come from the distributors servers, independent from the company where you bought the book.
As far as I know, the only two distributors doing JIT ordering for ALL stores in the Netherlands were Libridis and Centraal Boekhuis, and the first one is defunct now.
Therefore, in my posts I am assuming that this mentioned 3rd party is Centraal Boekhuis, but I do not know this for sure. It is, however, the only party that I can think of that would be powerful enough to force all vendors into a contract they would normally not be willing accept. (No acceptance = no books.)
(BTW: The same is true for Flanders / Vlaanderen: they get their Dutch books at the same source(s) as the Dutch stores.)
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Obviously I know nothing about Dutch publishing or about Dutch antitrustlaws or even if they apply.
I would not fault a vendor for signing the contract if it meant going out of business if they did not. Families to feed etc.
I would kind of expect them to stick by it if they signed it unless it was declared null and void in the same way I expect myself to stick by a contract I sign whether I like it or not.
Buit I don't see how this can work out well for the vender. They stay in business by signing the contract. Then they get a demand for information. If they comply, history implies that they will keep complying. The case will go to court and they will lose customers. If they don't comply, they will now not be able to sell the watermarked ebooks.
I think it is best to attempt to fight it out now, but it is easy for me to say not having the problem.
Helen