The European Union has accepted an offer from Apple and four major publishers to reduce pricing restrictions on content offered at Amazon and other book-sellers. After being caught out by the EU, we heard that the offer was likely to be adopted last month, and the commission has now confirmed the settlement which, according to them, “will restore normal competitive conditions in this new and fast-moving market, to the benefit of the buyers and readers of e-books.”
The new setup will let retailers set prices or discounts for two years and also drop “most-favored nation” contracts for five years. This clause had previously stopped Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Lagardere SCA’s Hachette Livre and Macmillan from striking deals to sell e-books at other retailers at prices lower than those offered in Apple’s own bookstore — the “favored nation”
Filed under: Apple, Amazon
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Source: Reuters, European Commission
