In a 26-page order today, Chief U.S. District Judge John Woodcock Jr. has denied Amazon.com’s motion to dismiss.

You can read the entire order (a pdf file) HERE.

Denial of the motion to dismiss means the case may proceed. Among other steps, we anticipate beginning discovery (where we are able to request documents from Amazon) shortly. Although there is still a long way to go, surviving the motion to dismiss is an important first step.

Questions regarding this development may be directed to:

PLAINTIFF – BOOKLOCKER.COM, INC.
Angela Hoy – angela@booklocker.com
Richard Hoy – richard@booklocker.com

ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF – IZARD NOBEL LLP
Seth Klein – sklein@izardnobel.com

UPDATE - List of Articles:

ONLINE RETAIL: Amazon headed to court, judge rules
Associated Press

Court Denies Amazon’s Motion to Dismiss BookLocker Antitrust Lawsuit
Publishers Weekly

Amazon – Booksurge Antitrust Lawsuit: Motion to Dismiss Refused
Mick Rooney

Amazon/BookSurge Issues Still in Court
Nina Amir

Antitrust suit against Amazon to continue
TeleRead

Booklocker v. Amazon Continues
About Freelance Writing

Money Grafs from the Booklocker Ruling
Munsey’s Technosnarl

Entrepreneur takes on Amazon in court – wins first skirmish
OnText

Amazon BookSurge Anti-Trust Lawsuit Can Proceed
Victoria Strauss

Amazon fails to end lawsuit over print-on-demand books
TechFlash

Court Denies Amazon’s Motion To Dismiss Booklocker Antitrust Lawsuit
Booktrade.info

Bangor bookseller proceeds with Amazon lawsuit
Mainebiz

Judge Denies Amazon’s Motion to Dismiss Antirust Case
Graphic Arts Online

Booklocker leads small publishers in battle against Amazon
The St. Louis Publishers Association (SPLA) Blog

Judge says suit against Amazon can proceed
THE NEWS TRIBUNE

Amazon Fails To Get Tying Class Action Dismissed
law360.com

Amazon fails to end lawsuit over print-on-demand books
Puget Sound Business Journal

ONLINE RETAIL: Amazon headed to court, judge rules
THE OLYMPIAN

Amazon Loses Round 1 of Print-On Demand Book Lawsuit
InfoBlog

On February 9th, BookLocker.com and Amazon / BookSurge were in Federal court in Bangor, Maine. BookLocker subsequently filed an amended complaint to clarify some points raised by the judge.

That amended complaint is here:
http://antitrust.booklocker.com/amended-complaint.pdf

Amazon / BookSurge has until March 20th to respond.

The Judge has asked for oral arguments on the motion to dismiss. In layman’s terms this means that the Judge wants the legal teams of both BookLocker and Amazon / BookSurge to come to Bangor and present their arguments in person.

If you recall, back in August Amazon / BookSurge lawyers filed a motion to dismiss (an expected legal move). Basically, the motion to dismiss is a formal petition to the court that BookLocker’s class action suit had no legal grounds and should, for that reason, be thrown out.

Requesting oral arguments gives the Judge the opportunity to ask questions of the lawyers on both sides and to understand better the issues involved before ruling on the motion to dismiss.

A reporter at the The Sunday Times (UK) went undercover at Amazon.co.uk after receiving a tip about labor conditions. Read the article HERE.

Think you’re safe from the Amazon/BookSurge ultimatum because you’re in the United Kingdom? Think again. You might be next!

Amazon has lauched a POD service in the U.K. While they say “We are offering titles that are being produced by other print on demand providers”…they don’t say they’ll continue to do so.

The article also states: “It is unclear whether this move will affect terms negotiations with publishers. North refused to comment adding ‘we are launching something brand new and we hope it will create savings that will benefit everybody’.”

Read the entire article (and don’t miss the reader comments!) here: http://thebookseller.com/news/68379-amazon-uk-launches-pod-service.html

We recently ran across an interesting quote by Jeff Bezos, written 10 years ago when Barnes and Noble tried to buy Ingram Book Group. (The deal was abandoned by Barnes and Noble seven months later under pressure resulting from antitrust concerns of the FTC and independent booksellers.)

Amazon.com’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, immediately took a defiant approach: “To our customers: Worry not … Those who make choices that are genuinely good for customers, authors, and publishers will prevail. Goliath is always in range of a good slingshot … Our long-term strategy has been to diversify our supplier base and to increase our direct purchasing from publishers.”
Source: Barnes & Noble Buys Ingram and Sets Off a Powder Keg

Pot, meet kettle.

PooperScoops weighs in with: Hypocrisy From Amazon’s Glass House

The petition from SPAN, the Small Publishers Association of North America, is now up:

http://www.spannet.org/amazonantitrust-signers.htm

Thanks to everyone for their support!

Publisher’s Weekly released a story today summarizing the arguments between Amazon and BookLocker, based on the court filings:

Amazon, Booklocker Trade Motions in POD Antitrust Case

As expected, Amazon filed a motion to dismiss our lawsuit last month. BookLocker today filed its response.

1. BookLocker’s original complaint is HERE.

2. Amazon’s motion is HERE.

3. BookLocker’s response is HERE.

We’d love to hear your COMMENTS! Please post them RIGHT HERE.

The wheels of justice tend to turn very slowly. We’ll keep you updated as the case progresses.