Canada’s Competition Bureau Reaches Deal with Apple, Publishers

Canada’s Competition Bureau said on Friday it had reached an agreement with Apple Inc and three major e-book publishers that will permit retailers to offer discounts to clients.

Holtzbrinck (which operates under the Macmillan brand name alongside Simon and Schuster and Hachette have come to an understanding that could permit electronic book shops, for example.

Apple and Kobo to set the costs of books they offer by those distributing houses.
The Competition Bureau’s investigation found that a plan between the publishers and Apple prompted to higher costs for Canadians.

The Competition Bureau, in any case, was not able achieve a concurrence with a fourth publisher included, News Corp’s HarperCollins, and filed an application to request it to stop its alleged anti-competitive practices.

Preceding the agreement, the agency claims that the distributers “coordinated with their competitors” to “eliminate retail price competition” among e-book sellers, the bureau says in a filing against HarperCollins.

“This case is about protecting Canadian consumers and ensuring a competitive and innovative digital economy,” Canada’s commissioner of competition John Pecman said in a statement.

“I commend Apple, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster for entering into consent agreements that resolve my concerns related to their conduct. As no agreement was reached with HarperCollins, I am taking action today to address its ongoing restrictions on competition in Canada.”