A United States District Judge just issued a permanent injunction against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) over fixed ebook pricing. Judge Denise Cote also installed a third party to ensure the company complies with antitrust laws in the near future.
Apple restricted to making agreements
Cote also told the iPad maker to cut all price-restricting agreements they made with the top five publishing groups which include Hachette Book Group, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Macmillan. For the next four years, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) cannot make any similar agreements with publishers.
This could be a major win for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) customers. Earlier this week, Amazon started sending emails to Kindle ebook buyers reminding them they have money coming back to them from the settlement. There was also a post on the e-tailer’s blog explaining that the payouts could be as high as $3.82 per ebook download. The settlement still has to be approved by the court by December 6th. Should there be no appeals and the court gives a green light, Amazon will roll out the credits.
Credits to Amazon accounts
MacWorld explained the details regarding the credits, “Credits to Amazon accounts will roll out automatically to eligible customers and can be used to purchase ebooks or physical print books. Anyone who would prefer to receive their credit as a check can also request it at a special website set-up to handle the fallout of the case. To be eligible to receive a credit on your Amazon account, you must have a U.S. billing address and purchased a Kindle ebook published by Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, and/or Simon & Schuster between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012.”
Although this is a loss for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), it’s certainly not the end. The company’s success doesn’t start or end with ebooks. There is little doubt that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will find a new way to make their ebook business more lucrative.
