Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Canada Competition Bureau confirms that Indigo Books is not a target in ebooks probe, (Jan 21, 2015)

By Dan Selcke, J.D.

John Pecman, Canada’s Commissioner of Competition, announced yesterday that the Competition Bureau was not investigating Indigo, a Canadian bookstore chain, concerning possible anti-competitive behavior in the Canadian ebooks industry. The Bureau was, however, gathering information from the company to help with that investigation.

“Contrary to several media reports, I can confirm that at this time, Indigo is not the subject of the Bureau’s ongoing investigation into alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the Canadian ebooks industry,” Pecman said. “The Commissioner is currently seeking information from Indigo pursuant to section 11 of the Competition Act to further its ongoing investigation.”

“Section 11 of the Competition Act is one of several tools that give the Bureau the ability to gather necessary information required to better inform our investigations and to take effective enforcement action when warranted.”

In February of last year, the Bureau’s investigation resulted in an agreement among major publishers of e-books in Canada. The publishers—which included Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Shuster—agreed to refrain from restricting, limiting, or impeding an e-book retailer’s ability to set, alter, or reduce the retail price of an e-book. They also agreed not to offer price discounts or enter into any agreement that has the effect of restricting limiting, or impeding such conduct.

“At this time,” Pecman said, “the Bureau’s investigation is focused on Penguin, Kobo and other market participants.”

Companies: Hachette Book Group; HarperCollins; Macmillan; Simon & Shuster

News: Antitrust