A federal court has dropped an antitrust lawsuit filed by independent booksellers against Amazon and the big six publishers, which alleged that the groups created a monopoly by signing deals that required the use of DRM on eBooks sold through Amazon’s Kindle store.
In the decision, Federal Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the booksellers’ claim that the publishers had conspired with Amazon to keep rivals from selling eBooks. The judge found no evidence or motive for the claim. Here is an excerpt from his ruling:
The evasiveness of this allegation is remarkable. Plaintiffs do not allege an unlawful agreement, only vague ‘oral discussions or agreements regarding the use of restrictive DRM.’ Plaintiffs do not even allege that any such discussions or agreements actually occurred, only that they may have occurred. And plaintiffs do not specify who participated in these hypothetical discussions or agreements, only that they may have involved ‘one or more’ of the Publishers and Amazon.
(Via Publisher’s Weekly)
