Time Is Running Out: DOJ’s Agency Model Comment Period Ends Monday

As of Thursday, June 21, there are just four days left to submit comments to the Department of Justice (DOJ) about the proposed settlement with three of the five publishers involved in the department’s civil suit regarding the agency model.

The submission deadline is midnight ET on Monday, June 25, and the American Booksellers Association is strongly urging booksellers to act today to express their opinions about the proposed settlement to DOJ and to share those comments with ABA.

The proposed settlement must be approved by the court, but, before that can happen, the Tunney Act requires DOJ to accept comments from the public, to publish the comments, and to submit a written summary of the comments to the federal court charged with considering approval. A federal judge will then determine whether the remedy being proposed is “in the public interest.” (For more information, see ABA CEO Oren Teicher’s May 3 e-mail about the opportunity for public comments.)

To ensure that comments reach DOJ before the June 25 deadline, booksellers should send a letter via e-mail to John Read, chief of Litigation III Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, at [email protected]. It is also suggested that, if possible, a hard copy be sent to the following address:

 John Read
Chief, Litigation III Section
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
450 5th Street, NW, Suite 4000
Washington, DC 20530

To help ABA track what is being said about the proposed consent decree, booksellers are asked to e-mail a copy of their comments to ABA Content Officer Dan Cullen.

As ABA CEO Oren Teicher told booksellers at the association’s June 5 Annual Membership Meeting: “None of us can know the outcome of this case. But all of us can be sure that the prospects for a solution that preserves the agency model, that promotes diversity and choice, and that protects this competitive marketplace are going to be diminished if the court does not hear the clear and forceful voice of independent booksellers…. This is a moment when we are compelled to act.”

And, Teicher continued, “I cannot promise that we will change the mind of the DOJ, but no court can point to any instance in American history where monopolization has benefited consumers. The court has to listen to that fact. The time to speak is now.... We cannot, and should not, allow this moment to pass.”