e-books

A kindle e-book reader is pictured at the Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2015. Daniel Roland/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

E-readers are lined up at the 2019 Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. Daniel Roland/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A reader handles an Amazon Kindle at a book fair in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2015. Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

When Apple launched its first iPad back in 2010, the company also unveiled an e-books marketplace. Federal courts say the company broke antitrust laws by setting prices with book publishers to target Amazon and its Kindle reader. Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Kindle e-readers were piled high at an Amazon Fulfillment Center. The central focus of the nascent European probe will be Amazon's e-book agreements with publishers. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images hide caption

With the launch of its e-bookstore on Wednesday, Oyster is, well, turning the page on its business model. And so far, the big publishers are open to the change. iStockphoto hide caption

Writers lowered the boom on the broom — metaphorically, of course. iStockphoto hide caption

In its attempt to obtain a foothold in a market long dominated by Amazon, Apple ran afoul of antitrust law. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

Visitors walk through the Hachette Book Group's exhibition in May at BookExpo America, the annual industry convention in New York. Mark Lennihan/AP hide caption

It's partly because of bookshelves like these — and their digital equivalents — that publishers have had a positive open to 2014. Blackred/iStockphoto hide caption