An email from Steve Jobs to an alleged 'conspiring publisher' has been made public as part of a 31 state class action lawsuit against Apple, Macmillan and Penguin for price fixing.
Here's the email from Steve Jobs:
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As I see it, [Conspiring Publisher] has the following choices:
1. Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream ebooks market at $12.99 and $14.99.
2. Keep going with Amazon at $9.99. You will make a bit more money in the short term, but in the medium term Amazon will tell you they will be paying you 70% of $9.99. They have shareholders too.
3. Hold back your books from Amazon. Without a way for customers to buy your ebooks, they will steal them. This will be the start of piracy and once started, there will be no stopping it. Trust me, I've seen this happen with my own eyes.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any other alternatives. Do you?
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This class action suit is addition to the Department of Justice's lawsuit. The validity of these suits is widely debated. For example, a recent article from NYU law professor Richard Epstein predicts that the Department of Justice's antitrust suit against Apple and publishers over e-Book pricing is a mistake and that Apple is likely to beat it.
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Here's the email from Steve Jobs:
---
As I see it, [Conspiring Publisher] has the following choices:
1. Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream ebooks market at $12.99 and $14.99.
2. Keep going with Amazon at $9.99. You will make a bit more money in the short term, but in the medium term Amazon will tell you they will be paying you 70% of $9.99. They have shareholders too.
3. Hold back your books from Amazon. Without a way for customers to buy your ebooks, they will steal them. This will be the start of piracy and once started, there will be no stopping it. Trust me, I've seen this happen with my own eyes.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see any other alternatives. Do you?
---
This class action suit is addition to the Department of Justice's lawsuit. The validity of these suits is widely debated. For example, a recent article from NYU law professor Richard Epstein predicts that the Department of Justice's antitrust suit against Apple and publishers over e-Book pricing is a mistake and that Apple is likely to beat it.
Read More