If you bought an ebook anytime after April 1, 2010, you could qualify to join a class action lawsuit against Apple and several Canadian book publishers over alleged price fixing on ebooks.
A claim on behalf of Wayne Van Tassel, a Victoria lawyer, has been filed in the B.C. Supreme Court.
The B.C. claim alleges that Apple and book publishers colluded to fix prices for ebooks, which is a contravention of the Competition Act. The allegation has not been proven in court.
The claim mirrors a legal action filed in the U.S. in which the federal Justice Department is suing Apple and U.S. book publishers.
The B.C. claim is seeking a court order certifying a class action. If certified, any B.C. resident who bought an ebook from one of the publishers named in the suit anytime after April 1, 2010, is automatically covered. In the event the suit results in a settlement, anyone who wishes to claim compensation must register with Branch MacMaster LLP, the law firm handling the case.
The suit offers an intriguing glimpse into how the late Steve Jobs operated. It is alleged Jobs and his company colluded with book publishers to fix ebook prices in order to break the lock Amazon had on the ebook market – a move designed to make the iPad a viable contender as an ereader.
The publishers named the suit are Hatchet Book Group Inc., HarperCollins Publishers Inc., Penguin Group Inc. and Simon & Schuster and Canadian subsidiaries. Also named is MacMillan Publishers Inc.
Only plaintiffs who bought ebooks from the named publishers would qualify for the class action suit, said Luciana Brasil, the lawyer with Branch MacMaster who is handling the case.
The books would typically have been purchased through retailers like Apple, Amazon, and Kobo.
In April 2010, the iPad had not yet been released, but Jobs was already positioning the tablet to become a serious contender in the emerging ereader market, according to the claim.
Up to that point, Amazon dominated the ebook space. At that time, publishers sold ebooks to retailers, such as Amazon, which set the price, not the publishers. In an effort to control the market, Amazon set the prices at what the publishers felt were artificially low, making it hard for other players to compete.
“Amazon was taking a loss and selling them at $9.99,” Brasil told Business in Vancouver. “The publishers were not happy about Amazon discounting their books, because it was devaluing the paper books, in their view.”
Jobs convinced the publishers to adopt a new model, the claim alleges – the “most favoured nation agreement.”
Under that agreement, publishers rather than retailers would set the price for ebooks, but could not set those prices lower for other retailers – like Amazon – than the prices Apple charged through iBooks.
Brasil said she does not know how much the suit could be worth, if there is a settlement.
