Amazon echoed the FTC’s stance, stating that the ABA’s claims “diverge from and contradict” the fundamental premise of the government’s allegations. Amazon argued that the government is focused on practices that allegedly raise prices for consumers across various product categories, not just books.
“Intervention is not intended to allow parties like ABA to shoehorn into existing litigation such an unrelated and contradictory legal claim,” Amazon asserted.
Background of the Antitrust Case
The FTC, along with attorneys general from 17 states, has accused Amazon of maintaining illegal monopolies in the markets for online superstores and online marketplace services used by third-party sellers. The case targets Amazon’s policies that allegedly punish sellers for offering lower prices on other platforms and require merchants to use Amazon’s logistics services to access its marketplace.
The ABA, which represents 2,500 independent bookstores, sought to intervene in the case, arguing that Amazon’s dominance in the book market has allowed it to dictate lower wholesale prices from publishers, undercutting independent stores. U.S. District Judge John H. Chun denied the ABA’s motion to intervene in June, prompting the association to appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
Amazon Booksellers Case : FTC and Amazon’s Opposition
The FTC’s brief highlighted that the government’s case is centered on Amazon’s practices across a wide range of product categories, with only a brief mention of books in the original complaint. Specifically, the FTC referenced Amazon’s use of a price-adjustment program, Project Nessie, which allegedly generated $57 million in additional profits from higher-priced books in 2018. However, the brief noted that Project Nessie also affected at least 12 other product categories, bringing in at least $10 million each.
