(NEWS)

This article was originally published on NYTimes.com.

“In a short blog post meant to shed light on its contract dispute with the publisher Hachette, Amazon argued this week that its data proved that lower e-book prices were better for everyone in the market for books. That includes authors, publishers, customers and Amazon itself.

Amazon also said that in addition to looking for cheaper books, it was asking for just 30 percent of the price of an e-book — far less than many in the publishing industry had feared the company was seeking in its dispute with Hachette.

At first blush, the retailer’s numbers, and its transparency, are encouraging.

But when you compare the market for e-books with other thriving digital markets, a larger question emerges: Why should the price of books be contractually enforced at all?…”

Read the full article at NYTimes.com.