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iBookstore May Be Under Fire from UK Competition Law
   

Reports are circulating that Apple's iBookstore model may not be entirely legal in the European continent because the company has too much control over the products being sold and distributed through the digital store. Book publishers must be certain that they are in control of product pricing through the Cupertino-based company or else they could fall into trouble with Britain's competition law. “The legality of the model in the UK is yet to be established,” reports The Bookseller. “Industry sources have warned for several weeks that the agency model used to sell e-books through the iBookStore could face legal hurdles.”Macnn's industry source said that publishers are currently discussing a deal for the UK iBookstore that would make it work within UK and European Union competition laws. The source is quoted as saying, "The situation is very different in the UK, where Amazon does not have the same hold over e-book sales and where there are not such worries over e-book prices, so it may not prove to be right. We have to make sure that the way we sell e-books is appropriate to each individual territory."The source also warns that it may be an "enormous challenge" to have these deals prepared in time for the iBookstore to open in several other countries, the same day that the iPad device will become available outside of US borders.
     

http://www.maclife.com/article/news/ibookstore_may_be_under_fire_uk_competition_law