The war between German Authors and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

665

By Ross Schwartz on August 19, 2014 Company

A report in The New York Times demonstrates that writers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland signed a petition against Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), an online dealer. The report states the fact that over 1,000 writers who have a huge fan following questioned the loyalty of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in an open letter. The corresponding company is said to maneuver the recommendation lists available for online users and take “writers hostage.” Moreover, the company claims not to provide books published by Bonnier Group, a Swedish publisher but has the access to those books.

The letter wrote against Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) says that Amazon has been manipulating its recommendation lists and lies about the availability of books printed by Bonnier Group. The bonnier authors are being ignored by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and the trust of the Amazon customers is thus violated. The letter further states that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) sells books under false pretensions and takes longer time than usual to deliver the books published by Bonnier. The customers are tricked into believing that Amazon will deliver the required books in no time, conversely, writers of those books are removed from reference lists.

The Nobel Prize winner German-language writer, Elfriede Jelinek signed the letter himself. Additionally, well-known authors such as Ingrid Noll and Nele Neuhaus also signed the letter. Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s actions were also criticized by Ms. Noll who emphasized the need to preserve the edifying values of writers. According to her, Amazon should not forget the moral norms just to get economically strong. Gerhard Ruiss, Austrian representation of authors also signed the letter and described it as the process of raising awareness among readers.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is being accused by the United States publisher, Hachette as well. Ms. Nina George, an author and one of the coordinators, put emphasis on the fact that German writers should definitely take a strong action against such conduct. She further supported the fair marketing of books around the globe.

On the other hand, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) defended itself by saying that Bonnier has been blaming them fallaciously. In an email, the company stated that bonnier group’s bid prices are too high. The mounted prices of e-books make it difficult for Amazon to sell. Moreover, Amazon underlined the need to offer e-books in cheaper prices than printed versions.

Bonnier is a leading publisher in German publishing department, hosting prestigious houses like Ullstein and Piper. The readers are asked to submit a complaint to the head of Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) as well. A complaint was put forward to the antitrust authority of German by German publishers and Booksellers Association. They criticized the manipulation being done by Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and said that Amazon’s strategies breach the law of competition. The first round of this investigation has thus been initiated by The European Commission. The chief head of association, Mr. Skipis urged the importance of upholding a fair market for authors and protecting the esteem of book culture.