Summary of the M-Edge Vs. Amazon Lawsuit 61
An anonymous reader writes "According to a lawsuit filed by Kindle accessory maker M-Edge, Amazon is a threatening, deceitful, and interfering big brother figure. M-Edge accuses the Kindle maker of patent infringement, contract interference, false advertising, unfair business practices, and extortion. A summary of the lawsuit and events over the course of the last 3 years paints a very dark picture of Amazon's tactics for crushing competition and stealing the best ideas from its partners. It sounds as though M-Edge may have a very strong case against Amazon, and if it wins we could see Amazon forced to remove its own Kindle accessories from Amazon.com."
Well then (Score:2)
25% now? That would explain why the costs are so high despite the quality of the accessories not being anything to write home about.
At least, compared to the 90% cheaper Chinese knockoffs that manage to hold up just as well.
Bezos and his leadership seems to come across as an arrogant prick, but maybe that's just me.
Re:Well then (Score:4, Informative)
and I'm sure these accessory makers don't like Amazon driving down the overinflated cost of accessories.
How exactly does using extortionist tactics to charge exorbitant fees from manufacturers drive down the cost of accessories? The fact is, the M-Edge case was hands down the best case for the Kindle for at least the first year after release and it was priced the same as the Amazon branded case that was a worthless piece of crap. The first Amazon branded Kindle case that was remotely usable was all but a carbon copy of the M-Edge case. Whether or not that case should have been patentable is a different debate, but if the suit is to be believed, Amazon basically just kept jacking up the fees they charged M-Edge until M-Edge could no longer compete pricewise with the official Amazon case.
Re: (Score:1)
They drive down the cost of accessories by offering a product that works just as well as the other brands but is more reasonably priced.
As a consumer, it makes no difference to me if an obvious design is "copied". What I really want is a piece of plastic molded to certain dimensions, without paying $40 like Marware demanded for their Fire case, something that undoubtedly cost less than $1 to make.
Re: (Score:3)
If the claims are to be believed, the only reason that the Amazon branded cases were cheaper were because they forced 3rd parties to swallow an extra 25% commission on their cases that Amazon themselves didn't have to pay. If this commission were gone, it would lower the cost of all cases for the consumer.
You also seem to be defending Amazon's use of patents in your first comment, but that is actually the complete opposite of what is being discuss
Re: (Score:3)
I wasn't aware of the 'Amazon Basics' line of products until now, look like good stuff reasonably priced.
A couple checks though and it looks like monoprice.com is still a fair amount cheaper- no idea if quality is comparable, but I don't really have any problems so far with monoprice.
Re: (Score:2)
Standard vs. high speed; connector durability (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The price differential is usually less than a dollar though, so you're paying $3.50 for a 3-6 foot instead of $2.50 which really is not a concern.
Re: (Score:2)
Steve Jobs did believe in reincarnation. I just figured it would have been someone younger, and already not a dominate leader in their industry. It would explain the rounded corners on the Kindles though.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't know about that. I have a couple of their cases (for the Nook, as I avoid the Kindle), and the quality has been excellent. M-Edge is now my go-to for reader cases, party for great customer service, party because the quality is great, and partly because I love their light system
Careful now! (Score:4, Insightful)
A summary of the lawsuit and events over the course of the last 3 years paints a very dark picture of Amazon's tactics for crushing competition and stealing the best ideas from its partners.
*emphasis mine*
I'm no expert, but is 'painting a picture' another one of those libel-dodging phrases like 'allegedly'?
Re: (Score:2)
That's exactly what it is.
Re: (Score:1)
No, it's just figurative language that has more descriptive quality than say "indicates" or "illustrates"
Re: (Score:2)
Weasel words in a /. summary... say it ain't so :)
Re: (Score:1)
I'm no expert, but is 'painting a picture' another one of those libel-dodging phrases like 'allegedly'?
I'm curious...what other word/phrase would you use in its place?
Re: (Score:2)
I'm curious...what other word/phrase would you use in its place?
Either a summary of the facts already known or a quote from the actual complaint.
Re: (Score:2)
That, and the actual article does no painting, nor is it a very dark picture. Amazon tried to get additional money, and I didn't see anything about patents or other infringement.
"a look at the full suit" is a blank box with noscript enabled, but I wouldn't have to read it if the article would explain the infringement parts a bit more.
The comments are more damning than the article.
Re: (Score:3)
Well, in the Apple walled garden, people willingly sign the contracts with such stipulations, but just bitch about it afterwards. Here it's possibly very much so a breach of contract.
Re:just a question (Score:5, Insightful)
M-Edge agreed to a long term contract rate with Amazon. Amazon decided they didn't like the contract that Amazon had agreed to, so it used illegal coercion to get M-Edge to agree to a new long term contract that was strictly worse than the old contract.
Its not an issue of the amount of the fee but the method at which it was obtained.
Re:just a question (Score:4, Informative)
The difference is that M-Edge and Amazon had an existing contract specifying 8%. Amazon tried using vague threats of "ramifications" if M-Edge didn't pay 25% instead AND pay it retroactively no less. When a threat is strictly legal, it's rarely hidden behind vague terminology unless someone watched WAY too many mob movies.
Once the contract expires sometime in 2012, Amazon may demand 25% if it wants, but until then, it needs to honor its existing freely entered agreement with M-Edge.
patent infringement? (Score:4, Insightful)
they're fucking sleeves.
on the other hand, if they got anything they're claiming that amazon did in the suit in emails, recording or on paper, then amazon is throughly fucked. and another thing, wth was amazon thinking? if they want to alter the contract retroactively to be worse for the vendor than what it is because the vendor is doing good sales then they should just have bought the company, demanding tax on all sales by the company sounds just nasty and it makes no sense that if you got high volume your % to amazon goes up!
on yet another hand, again, they're sleeves and an opportunity product - an accessory for a device to be sold for a limited time and easily copied(which I guess why they patented it, though they might have been better off trying to find some other textile products to produce).
Re: (Score:3)
Normally I might have little sympathy there, but in this case they're suing the holders of the one click patent, so it may be fair play.
Why is this surprising? (Score:3)
Amazon is not Google. And even Google is not "good" in any moral sense; it just doesn't engage in evil business practices. Where in the spectrum Amazon falls in, whether it's between Apple and Microsoft, or between Oracle and eBay, or some other combination thereof, is arguable. But to think that Amazon is somehow good because it's not Apple or Microsoft is just being naive (likewise for Google, but there's a strong case that Google is closer to the opposite side than the side Amazon is on).
Re: (Score:1)
And even Google is not "good" in any moral sense; it just doesn't engage in evil business practices.
Or at least they don't want you to think they do... and in your case apparently they've been successful.
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed.
It's all an islamofascist corporate socialiconspiracy.
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Yes the prophet Google, peace be upon them, has never done any wrong. Why even when engaging in proxy patent suits, doing the bidding of the Chinese government in censoring their site for many years, allowing scam sites to advertise phoney products through adsense/adwords for years, etc. Google, peace be upon them, is clearly guilty of nothing. All claims to the contrary are just FUD and less because the holy Google, peace be upon them, says they do no evil.
What a surprise. (Score:1)
I own an Medge sleeve for my Nook (Score:3)
It is well designed and works well with the product. The light (purchased seperately from Medge) works well with both.
Just because they are accessories does NOT take away their contractual rights or patent rights. Medge came out with products superior to Amazons, and Amazon should not have the right to change the contract after it was signed, let alone steal Medge's superior design.
quick summary (Score:5, Informative)
I didn't read all of it... but basically M-edge says:
* Amazon and M-edge signed a 3 year agreement where amazon would receive 8% + an additional 7% = 15% of their sales on Amazon
* about a year past, and amazon demanded and harassed m-edge to sign a new agreement where amazon would receive 32%. amazon threatened to delist m-edge from amazon.
* m-edge eventually agreed to the new agreement
* an additional period of time passed, and amazon demanded that m-edge sign a new contract where they would receive an additional 30% (or so) + 10% of all of m-edges sales to other retailers or they would be delisted.
* m-edge refused
* amazon sent out an 'approved kindle accessories manufacturers' list to m-edges retailers that did not include m-edge
* retailers called medge to ask about the list, and medge lost business, and some retailers stopped ordering
* medge continues to refuse to sign a new agreement.. amazon says medge breached prior agreement and terminates the agreement.
medge also says amazon infringes on one of their patents... and that amazon lists medge's products as unavailable (where they should not be listed at all) and suggests amazon's own accessories instead.
there's some other stuff about amazon withholding payments, etc... but the above is basically it.
Re:quick summary (Score:5, Informative)
I should add: m-edge felt the need to sign the first revision because amazon accounted for 90% of their sales.
after that, M-edge signed up other retailers.. then amazon demanded a new contract where they would receive 10% of m-edges other sales.
Re: (Score:1)
Amazon has a history of offering very good terms to early partners, then forcing them to agree to terms more and more in Amazon's favor. That happened to me with the Associate and Advantage program. So this sounds quite consistent. You need to watch your back when dealing with Amazon
Re: (Score:1)
I like to pretend all AC comments are actually written by a single schizophrenic person having a public argument with themselves.
Re: (Score:1)
No it doesn't.
Re: (Score:2)
If accurate, M-Edge should receive a very large refund from Amazon, along with the reinstatement of the original contract terms. Then, add a very large punitive settlement and all legal costs. And throw in 10% of Amazon's sales for a year just for good measure (since 10% is what Amazon was demanding).
Re: (Score:2)
M-edge stuff is available on the Amazon UK store just fine; maybe Amazon Europe is being less evil. I have two m edge cases for kindle 3s, plus the associated light. They are great and do exactly what they should. Good build quality and half the price of the Amazon own brand stuff. I hope m-edge nail Amazon to the wall over this if even a fraction of it is true.
Press Release? (Score:2)
DId M-Edge post this story? It sounds too good, and makes them sound like saints.
Re: (Score:2)
It's M-edge's complaint/lawsuit... so of course it contains nothing bad about M-edge. I'm sure once Amazon's lawyers get it, they will have their own list of terrible things M-edge's did to them.
This cannot be Bezos' Amazon (Score:2)
According to a lawsuit filed by Kindle accessory maker M-Edge, Amazon is a threatening, deceitful, and interfering big brother figure.
What!?!? It can't be! I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked!
Maybe someone should create an alternative store (Score:2)
for selling Kindle accessories. They can call it...
KINDLEss.com