EUROPEAN COMMISSION INVESTIGATING APPLE AND E-BOOK PUBLISHERS FOR PRICE FIXING

The European Commission this morning announced that it has opened formal antitrust proceedings to investigate whether a number of international ebook publishers have engaged in anti-competitive practices affecting the sale of e-books in Europe, “possibly with the help of Apple.” According to the press release, the opening of proceedings means that the EC will “treat the case as a matter of priority”.

he Commission says it will, in particular, investigate whether the publishers and Apple have engaged in illegal agreements or practices that would “have the object or the effect of restricting competition” in the European Union or in the European Economic Area (EEA). The commission is also looking into “agency agreements” between the publishers and e-book retailers, in collaboration with the UK Office of Fair Trading.

The EC says it is concerned whether some of the publishers’ and Apple’s practices “may breach EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices”. The opening of the proceedings follows unannounced inspections that were carried out by the Commission at the premises of several e-book publishers in March 2011.

RUMOR: GOOGLE TO UNITE PUBLISHERS AROUND ANDROID

The Wall Street Journal is reporting Google has approached Time Warner, Condé Nast and Hearst -- three of the biggest publishers of periodicals in the US -- with a view to offering their content through a Google-operated "digital newsstand" for Android devices. The appeal for media companies will be an easier route to monetizing their content, apparently, including the possibility that Google could take a smaller slice of revenues than the 30 percent charged by Apple and Amazon. There's also word of developments behind the scenes at Cupertino, where "several changes in iTunes" are expected to improve the publisher's experience of using the service, including making it easier to offer long-term subscriptions and related discounts.