Will there soon only be bestsellers and nothing else?

Literature gap in sight: the Federal Supreme Court has rebuffed the Booksellers and Publishers Association in the matter of fixed book prices. Now only the Federal Council can intervene to preserve fixed book prices.fixed book prices are not desirable, at least that's how the Federal Court sees it. However, the Booksellers and Publishers Association (SBVV) is eager to take its case to the Federal Council. After the National Council came out in favor of drafting a legal basis for fixed book prices in December 2006, the Federal Supreme Court's decision comes as something of a surprise.

Fixed book prices are a restriction of competition to which individual booksellers voluntarily commit themselves. The Federal Supreme Court has ruled on the admissibility of such a measure and not on its purpose. A political decision by the Federal Council could now overturn the validity of the Federal Supreme Court's ruling, because it may allow agreements on competition that are prohibited per se if it considers them necessary for cultural policy reasons.
If the SBVV is to be believed, the abolition of fixed book prices would result in a reduction in the number of bookshops and the literary diversity on offer. Urs Heinz Aerni, President of the Association of Independent Small Bookshops, says: "Books are not just any old commodity; they convey knowledge, education and imagination. You can't apply the same criteria as in the financial or textile sectors.