John Sargent on the Justice Department's eBook Suit

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2012/04/john-sargent-on-the-justice-department-ebook-suit

Here is the CEO of the publisher Macmillan, John Sargent, on the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against publishers alleging collusion on pricing of electronic books:

The terms the DOJ demanded were too onerous. After careful consideration, we came to the conclusion that the terms could have allowed Amazon to recover the monopoly position it had been building before our switch to the agency model. We also felt the settlement the DOJ wanted to impose would have a very negative and long term impact on those who sell books for a living, from the largest chain stores to the smallest independents...

It is also hard to settle a lawsuit when you know you have done no wrong. The government's charge is that Macmillan's CEO colluded with other CEO's in changing to the agency model. I am Macmillan's CEO and I made the decision to move Macmillan to the agency model. After days of thought and worry, I made the decision on January 22nd, 2010 a little after 4:00 AM, on an exercise bike in my basement. It remains the loneliest decision I have ever made, and I see no reason to go back on it now.

Other publishers have chosen to settle. That is their decision to make. We have decided to fight this in court.

Good for him.

by Editor  |  Apr 11, 2012 at 11:46 am Related Topics:  Regulation receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list