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Chad Catacchio
Chad Catacchio is a contributor writing on a variety of topics in tech. He has held management positions at a number of tech companies in th Chad Catacchio is a contributor writing on a variety of topics in tech. He has held management positions at a number of tech companies in the US and China. Check out his personal blog to connect with him or follow him on Twitter (if you dare).
According to the Wall Street Journal, two book publishers have received requests from Texas’ attorney general (AG)’s office for information apparently regarding ebook pricing – however, beyond that, details in the inquiry are limited.
The WSJ (going on an earlier report by Publishers Marketplace magazine) believes that the inquiry may be focused around Apple’s entry into the market. Apple turned away from the Amazon model where Amazon (the retailer) sets the price, and to an “agency” model, where the publisher sets the price. 5 of the 6 major publishers have signed onto Apple’s idea according to the report. Whether this is an investigation into anti-trust issues or a way to determine if this pricing is fair for consumers or for some other reason isn’t know at this time. Frankly, everything is so vague at this point that it is just as likely that nothing will come out of this.
Compounding this, both of the publishers that claimed to have been contacted by the Texas AG declined comment to the WSJ.
h/t Electronista
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