Amazon exec says Apple's agency model was designed to hinder Kindle
During the third day of the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust suit against Apple, a high ranking Amazon executive said the agency model used by Apple and five major book publishers was meant to slow down the success of online retailer's popular e-book reader.
According to in-court reports from Reuters, Amazon's vice president of Kindle content Russell Grandinetti testified that his company told publishers it may have to modify business relationships as a result of adopting the agency model.
Further, Gardinetti said publishers came to Amazon with an "ultimatum" after reaching deals with Apple in 2010, demanding they be allowed to set e-books prices on Amazon.com. Unless an agreement was made, Amazon would have been barred from selling Kindle-ready e-books on the same day that hardcover versions of the titles were released, he said.
