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Will the Court of Justice of the European Union torpedo the single price of the book?
The Austrian Supreme Court has requested the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to obtain its opinion on several provisions governing the sale price of books and determine whether they comply with Community law. The 2000 Directive on electronic commerce and Article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union will in particular be examined by the institution.
Several preliminary questions, put to the Court of Justice of the European Union by the Austrian Supreme Court, will soon put into perspective the regulations on the single price of the book in relation to Community law.
Single price and country of origin…
It all starts with a complaint, filed by the Austrian bookstore chain Desch-Drexler, against a user, based in Germany, of an online platform, which he exploits to sell German-language books to an Austrian clientele. The brand assures that this activity harms its own business, since the user offers books at the price fixed by the publisher in Germany, and not at that imposed in Austria.
Since the two countries apply different VAT rates on books — 7% in Germany, 10% in Austria - the difference between the price displayed at Desch-Drexler and that charged online, by the isolated user, even minimal, is very real. In his defense, the online seller assured that he was subject to the legislation in force in his country, according to the principle of the country of origin of the directive on electronic commerce.
At first instance, the court ruled in favor of Desch-Drexler, recalling that a 5% discount was possible on the price set by the publisher, but that it was forbidden to promote it. By simply displaying a price lower than that determined by the publisher, the online seller was therefore committing an offense.
On appeal, however, this decision was overturned. The court this time leaned on the seller's side, confirming that the principle of the country of origin applied, stressing that German law did not prohibit the promotion of a lower rate, of 5%, at the price fixed by the publisher. Desch-Drexler has applied to the Austrian Supreme Court to examine the dispute in turn.
This first procedure is echoed by another, also opened by the Desch-Drexler chain, against a user of the Amazon marketplace, based in Germany, who also sells German-language books to an Austrian clientele. The latter offered, for example, Eine vollständige Liste aller Dinge, die ich vergessen habe, by Doris Knecht, published in 2023 by Hanser, at a price of € 24, the price set by the publisher in Germany.
On the side of the Austrian brand Desch-Drexler, the same title was offered at € 24.70, again due to the difference in the VAT applicable on the book (7% in Germany, 10% in Austria). The bookstore chain considered again that the seller's proposal, on Amazon, was illegal and constituted unfair competition to its own.
To answer this argument, the seller invoked Article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which prohibits quantitative restrictions on imports as well as any measures having equivalent effect between Member States. In his eyes, the single book price, introduced in Austria in 2000, went against the free movement of goods. Moreover, he assures that he had no technical means at his disposal to display a different price, on the Amazon marketplace, for consumers based in Austria.
In the first instance, the court again found in favor of Desch-Drexler, considering that the display of a price of € 24 by the seller, on the Amazon marketplace, represented a promotion of a lower price than that regulated by Austrian law. The appeal procedure confirmed this decision, recognizing however that the Austrian law on the single price of the book could affect sellers based in another Member State more heavily. However, this breach of free competition was justified, according to the Court of appeal, by an objective of protecting cultural diversity.
The Supreme Court has been seized again, but this time by the seller using the Amazon marketplace. He claims that it is impossible for a seller based in an EU member state to comply with both Austrian and German legislation, or that the former could reduce its VAT rate, or set a single price including all taxes, and not excluding tax, on works.
Some outstanding questions
To clarify its judgments, the Austrian Supreme Court has decided to question the Court of Justice the European Union, thanks to preliminary questions. Thanks to this procedure, the courts of the Member States can refer the matter to the institution in order to obtain details on the interpretation of the European treaties or the validity of an act vis-à-vis Community law.
The CJEU then publishes a judgment, which has the authority of res judicata and is binding on the courts of the Member States of the European Union. On the basis of this judgment, the national court at the origin of the referral may, for its part, settle the dispute or disputes giving rise to the questions referred for a preliminary ruling.
In total, five preliminary questions were referred to the CJEU. The first (case C-302/25), rather circumscribed, questions the prohibition of the promotion of the 5% discount on the single price of the book with regard to the directive on electronic commerce. But the following four (case C-780/25) have a much broader scope, since they are aimed directly at regulating the prices of books, as well as its application when sellers are located outside the borders of the country of publication.
The European Writers' Council (EWC), well aware of the impact that the judgments of the CJEU will have on the cross-border trade in books and on legislation relating to the single price, invites Member States to come forward to the Court before March 26. The authors' organization even provides a detailed argument, on its website, to defend the unique price of the book and the provisions that accompany it…
END! I think it's an emergency: these people are dead but they don't know it yet. So, they are agitating in all directions.
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