Authors Guild: Kindle Lending Library Breach of Contract
0
It was only a matter of time before the Authors Guild chimed in on the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library service recently announced by Amazon. The service allows Amazon Prime customers to borrow e-books to use on their e-readers for free. Not surprisingly, the Authors Guild is not too happy about this development:
Amazon has decided that it doesn’t need the publishers’ permission, because, as Amazon apparently sees it, its contracts with these publishers merely require it to pay publishers the wholesale price of the books that Amazon Prime customers download. By reasoning this way, Amazon claims it can sell e-books at any price, even giving them away, so long as the publishers are paid… Amazon, in other words, appears to be boldly breaching its contracts with these publishers … This is an exercise of brute economic power.
It seems some publishers did not agree to be a part of this program. But Amazon seems to be in a strong position to go ahead with the move regardless. At least that is what the Authors Guild alleges. It does not stop there. The Guild is encouraging authors to contact their publishers to register their objections to this move.
Amazon does pay publishers for downloaded e-books. Everytime an e-book is downloaded, Amazon pays publishers a fee. But the Guild argues that Amazon has no right to start a lending program, even though it is compensating publishers. Let’s face it. Some in the publishing world are concerned about prices dropping fast. While publishers have been getting paid by Amazon, they have never quite accepted some of the company’s practices when it comes to e-books.
As a consumer who pays for Amazon Prime, I love the Kindle Lending Library service. But just like Amazon was forced to seek permission for the text-to-speech feature it offered on the Kindle a while ago, we may have another fight between Amazon and publishers in the horizon over the Kindle Lending Library.
Which side do you believe is right? Please share.
