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Amazon KindleThe e-book legal woes continue to roll in for major book publishers thanks to a new class action lawsuit filed by a trio of independent booksellers. The stores accuse Amazon and the “Big Six” publishing houses – Penguin, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Random House – of monopolizing the sale of e-books by banning Kindle users from moving their purchases to other e-reading devices. If successful, the class action lawsuit would level the playing field for book retailers and could completely change how e-books are sold, the plaintiffs’ attorney said.

The e-book monopoly class action lawsuit centers on the use of digital rights management (DRM) technology, which Amazon places on e-books purchased for Kindle in order to prevent users from transferring their purchase to another competitor’s e-reading device, such as the Nook or Kobo.

The class action lawsuit notes that DRM was once used for songs sold on iTunes until Apple abandoned the practice in 2009, implying that e-book sales and distribution should be handled the same way.

According to the e-book class action lawsuit, the Big Six publishers entered into secret agreements with Amazon to place the DRM locks on their titles but have not reached similar agreements with U.S.-based independent bookstores for their e-book titles. Since the Big Six control about 60 percent of U.S. e-book sales, this secret deal has allowed Amazon to create a monopoly in the marketplace designed to fix the price of e-books and destroy independent booksellers, plaintiffs say.

Lead counsel for the plaintiffs told The Huffing Post on Wednesday that DRM is “a problem that affects many independent bookstores.” The goal of the lawsuit, she said, is to allow independent brick-and-mortar bookstores to sell open-source and DRM-free books that could be used on all electronic e-readers.

The class action lawsuit comes on the heels of a recent multi-million dollar settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Macmillan, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin and Hachette over alleged an alleged price-fixing conspiracy with Apple over e-books. Random House was not included in the DOJ investigation.

The Amazon E-Book Monopoly Class Action Lawsuit is The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza Inc., et al. v. Amazon.com, et al., Case No. 13-cv-1111, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

UPDATE: Amazon.com issued additional credits to eligible customers on July 23, 2015. Learn more.

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One thought on Amazon, Publishers Hit with e-Book Monopoly Class Action Lawsuit

  1. Renia Watson says:

    Missed the deadline. Is there any way to get around it?

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