Large bookstores and the Romanian Publishers Association fined EUR 1.2 mln by Competition Council

The Competition Council said on Wednesday, August 21, that it sanctioned six companies active on the book supply market, as well as the Romanian Publishers Association (AER), with fines totaling RON 5.96 million (roughly EUR 1.2 million) for participating in an anti-competitive agreement.

Direct Client Services S.R.L. (Cărturești Bookstores) got the biggest fine, of over RON 3.98 million, followed by Humanitas Bookstores S.A. - RON 582,362, Curtea Veche Publishing S.R.L. - RON 422,220, Humanitas S.A. - RON 365,718, Nemira Publishing House S.R.L. - RON 324,636, Publica Com S.R.L. - RON 174,677, and the Romanian Publishers Association - RON 115,696.

The Competition Council said that an investigation revealed that the six companies, together with the Publishers Association, coordinated their commercial strategies and limited the sale of books to the entities that managed the Bookster library from 2017-2020.

Bookster purchased books from publishers and bookstores, which were then made available to readers based on subscriptions paid by their employers.

"The publishing houses and bookstores, supported by the AER, considered that the activities carried out by Bookster are not limited to a public library and that it does not follow the rules of the book supply market and does not pay enough for copyright," reads the Competition Council's press release.

Bogdan Chirițoiu, president of the Competition Council, commented: "We cannot comment on the applicability of other laws, but all laws must be followed, including competition law. Publishers and bookstores had to act only through legal means to achieve their goals."

The investigation was started following a complaint filed by Educație pentru Toti Copiii Association, as the owner of the Bookster library.

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