Just approved, the Levi Law sets a limit on the discount applicable to the price of ebooks, in order to regulate and standardize the publishing market related to books in our country.
Up to what percentage is it lawful to discount ebooks? The question was raised and the Levi Law responded, among other things with a bipartisan opinion: no more than 15% off the cover price.
In fact, this discount rate does not only apply to ebooks but also to books, therefore the provision will have effects both on online stores, as well as on bookstores and offline retail points.
Discounts can increase but only in the case of promotional campaigns which can thus raise the above percentage by a few points: prices can then be cut by a maximum of 25% (only 20% during book fairs and exhibitions) provided that the promotion does not last more than a month and is not launched at the same time as the Christmas period which is often seen as a “high season,” borrowing the expression from the travel sector.
The intent of the Levi Law is to standardize the book market in Italy, a situation that – according to Marco Polillo, president of the Italian Publishers Association – was “out of control.” The great discretion in making even very substantial discounts by e-commerce has always caused harsh protests from the rest of the sector.
On this subject, Polillo also added: “I express great satisfaction for the approval of the Levi law which finally regulates discounts on book sales, the result of a long debate that involved all parties, big and small, in the book supply chain: publishers, booksellers and distributors.”
The law will come into force from September 1, 2011, so until then it will probably still be possible to catch some deeply discounted offers.
As things stand, booksellers and retailers will no longer be able to rely on subjective commercial strategies: everything is somewhat entrusted to the publisher, the only one who can set the cover price.
However, the matter does not seem to be completely closed: Senator Asciutti has already called for opening a debate to consider a law that serves as regulation for the digital publishing market, a market that certainly cannot be ignored and that should not be entirely equated and aligned with the print sector.
Be the first to comment