Shelf Awareness says that as the Justice Department prepares an e-book pricing settlement between big publishers, Apple, and Amazon.com, smaller publishers have sent a special comment protesting that settlement:

The nine publishers warned that "if the agency model is effectively banned [under the proposed settlement], Amazon will have the ability to price whole categories of e-books below cost in a way that is likely to drive out competition from other, less deep-pocketed e-booksellers as well as brick and mortar booksellers." In that case, "numerous third parties—not just [the nine publishers] but also authors, booksellers and the public—are threatened."...The publishers criticized the Justice Department's "view of the publishing industry—a world in which Amazon is supposedly the champion of consumer welfare because it priced certain e-books for $9.99 regardless of how much Amazon paid for those books." In fact, "the evidence (ignored by DOJ) demonstrates that where Amazon has the ability to price below cost, it does so on a widespread basis that is likely to drive out competition."

So much depends on this settlement—e-book prices, the number of e-book sellers, the future of the publishing industry—that I hope the Justice Department takes the time to do this right. Otherwise (assuming, of course, that we're looking at another term for the Obama administration) the government will be hauling Amazon.com in for a monopoly hearing in three years or so.