Alberta joins other states in suing e-books

Alberta joins other states in suing e-books Arizona Attorney General Tom Horn announced last Wednesday that Arizona will join 15 other state attorneys general in filing...

Alberta joins other states in suing e-books Arizona Attorney General Tom Horn announced last Wednesday that Arizona will join the attorneys general of 15 other states in filing a lawsuit against the country's three largest booksellers and Apple for gouging e-book prices. "It is illegal for competitors to sell products at the same price," Horn said in a statement. Consumers lost about $1 million due to jacked-up prices for e-books. According to the Attorney General's Office, Macmillan, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster, along with other publishers, conspired with Apple to increase the price of the most popular book from $12.99 to $14.99, which forced all online e-book stores to sell books at the same price, thereby causing the entire industry to increase prices. The lawsuit hopes to stop price monopoly, eliminate products sold at the same price, and give consumers more choices. Meanwhile, Amazon on Wednesday announced plans to cut the price of e-books. Some major items may drop from $14.99 to $9.99 or less. Publishers and booksellers believe the end result of the government's antitrust lawsuit will be a "real exchange," another form of "monopoly." Amazon currently dominates the industry, and by then, it will even more "hold all the cards." Any victory for consumers will be short-lived. E-books have existed for more than ten years. After Amazon launched its first Kindle e-book reader in 2007, e-book sales increased significantly and once achieved 90% of the market share. However, after the birth of Apple's iPad, the situation changed. To date, Amazon controls about 60% of the e-book market. Some argue that when Amazon gains enough competitive advantage that it may dictate its own terms, another form of monopoly will begin.