US: Authors won’t give up on Amazon probe

While Amazon has resolved its dispute with book publisher Hachette, authors are not stepping down from their calls for federal officials to investigate the online retailers.

According to reports, the group of authors that had previously called on the US Department of Justice to investigate Amazon – deemed Authors United – is not satisfied with Amazon’s immediate resolution with Hachette.

Earlier this year, reports revealed that Amazon had a disagreement with Hachette over the price of its books. As a result, Amazon was said to be delaying the sale of Hachette products, some say in order to strong-arm the publisher into surrendering to Amazon’s pricing demands.

Amazon and Hachette announced last month they had resolved the dispute and agreed to let Hachette determine its own eBook prices, while Amazon would collect 30 percent of the profits.

But according to one Hachette author, Douglas Preston, Authors United, made up of about 900 authors, is planning to file a formal complaint with the DOJ early next year. “The basic problem hasn’t gone away, and we’re not going away,” the author said. “[Authors United believes] there is a case to be made that Amazon is abusing its market power. We authors were subject to eight months of sanctions, and many careers were permanently damages – even ruined. I know authors who had to go back to bartending or waiting tables because their first book at Hachette failed because of Amazon.”

Full content: Bangor Daily News

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.