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With sales expected to triple over the next three years, the publishers and Apple, Inc., whose iPad readers are a major competitor in the ebook market (along with the Barnes & Noble Nook and Amazons various Kindle models), were feeling huge market pressures.

The competition was primarily coming from Amazon, which had offered electronic versions of books for an initial price of $9.99, far below the list price of new hardcovers, now approaching $30 or more. Amazons customer base, which appreciated the lower cost of versions that, after all, did not have to be printed on paper or sold via physical stores, snapped up the electronic books by the millions.

So, the Justice Department alleges, publishers like Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and Penguin, along with others, conspired with Apple to seize control of the ebook market from Amazon and drive up prices on downloadable versions.

Some of the publishers have settled with Justice without admitting liability, while Apple and others are fighting the conspiracy charges.

The DOJ says the companies feared that Amazons low prices would cause consumers to demand reductions on the cost of all books, and eventually lead Amazon to sell content directly to readers, bypassing traditional publishers and aiding Kindle sales.

The publishers and Apple argue that Amazons market dominance was leading to it becoming a monopoly, driving competitors out of business by selling below cost.

But the DOJ says retailers were being denied the right to set their own prices by the conspiracy. That seems right: Consumers, not cartels, deserve to benefit from lower-cost methods.

Its not only the bottom line, its the last word.

The Times Argus of Barre, Montpelier (Vt.), April 20, 2012

Ben Cohen is doing his bit.

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