EU To Investigate E-Book Sales For Antitrust Violation
December 06 2011 - 6:17AM
Dow Jones News
The European Union's competition regulator said Tuesday it will
investigate five publishing firms on suspicions that they, possibly
with the help of Apple Inc. (APPL), "engaged in anti-competitive
practices affecting the sale of e-books in the European Economic
Area, in breach of EU antitrust rules," according to a written
statement.
The publishing firms involved in the investigation are Hachette
Livre, owned by Lagardere Publishing; Harper Collins of News Corp.
(NWS); Simon & Schuster of CBS Corp. (CBSA); Penguin of Pearson
PLC (PSON.LN) and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holzbrinck.
"The commission will in particular investigate whether these
publishing groups and Apple have engaged in illegal agreements or
practices that would have the object or the effect of restricting
competition in the EU or in the EEA," the statement added.
The duration of the formal proceedings opened today depends on
how the companies involved will respond to the investigation and
how complex each case is.
The European Commission has been investigating this issue in
parallel with the U.K. Office of Fair Trading.
The companies involved and the countries where they are based
have been informed about the investigation.
News Corp. also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of this
newswire and The Wall Street Journal.
-By Matina Stevis, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 (0)2 741 1 483;
matina.stevis@dowjones.com
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