Connecticut AG probes Apple, Amazon over e-books

"Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating deals struck by Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc to offer low prices on electronic books, saying the agreements may block rivals from providing attractive pricing"

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Connec....html?x=0&.v=2

The publishers referred to in this article are all part of the user-agency model in which the publisher sets the price. We have Penguin and Harper Collins right now, the rest are on their way.

As much as I dislike Apple, I dislike government interference in business transactions even more. If the competitors have a problem with this, they need to develop a large customer base that's attractive to publishers, not run crying to the government.

Originally Posted by Chubulor

As much as I dislike Apple, I dislike government interference in business transactions even more. If the competitors have a problem with this, they need to develop a large customer base that's attractive to publishers, not run crying to the government.

From my reading of the article, it seems that the CT AG is concerned about the impact on consumers, not the competing resellers. Given that the publishing industry is pretty much a quintessential oligopoly, the new Amazon and Apple agreements may violating existing consumer protection statutes.

Originally Posted by Snow

The publishers referred to in this article are all part of the user-agency model in which the publisher sets the price. We have Penguin and Harper Collins right now, the rest are on their way.

That is good news. I look forward to it.