Czech supermarket sale debate.

Albatros, the publisher of the Czech version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, had an agreement to only release the novel to bookstores for the first month. Per the original agreement, they would release the novel to supermarkets on March 1st, while it has already been available at bookstores since January 31st.

Our last report stated how that agreement had been broken. The supermarket chain Tesco released copies of the novel starting February 7th.

Now we know that Tesco received the books in what appears to be a completely legal way. They apparently purchased the books from Vltava Stores, one of Albatros's customers, who were under the impression that they had the right to sell the books online to anyone. They had unloaded half of their stock to Tesco.

What is particularly strange about this whole thing is that the original agreement was put together because booksellers like Vltava insisted upon it. They had been complaining that supermarkets were taking all of their business by selling the books at ridiculous prices.

So the status of the whole thing right now is that Tesco is in the clear but Vltava is under fire. Albatros is requesting monetary compensation, and if an arrangement is not made, they plan to sue.

http://www.thedailysnitcher.com/news/czech-deathly-hallows-released-in-supermarkets-despite-agreements.html