EU investigates possible cartel in sale of e-books

READERS may be paying double what an ebook really costs every time they download one online, due to an arrangement between five of the world’s major publishers and Apple.

Following a raid on the offices of several companies in the e-book business in a number of EU countries, the European Commission is investigating whether the five and Apple are operating a cartel to keep prices artificially high.

Despite the fact that a downloaded book costs publishers very little compared to the cost of printing and distributing a paper copy, most of them are sold for the same price and in some instances cost even more.