@jamesgiroux Please, tell me, what your lawyers say, according to the laws of the United States. Is it such aggressive promotion of Elements in the main markets with the help of an advertising banner (top of the site, shopping cart, product pages of the authors) unfair competition against a huge number of authors not related to the Elements?
In response, I think it makes no sense for you to repeat your words that this banner is for attracting new types of customers, and therefore this banner does not harm the authors of the main markets, because even without data it is obvious that this banner can also entice regular customers of markets and those, who could stay in the main markets, but you redirected them to Elements. A banner in the basket (which you have already removed) evidence of this.
Essentially you are like Google for digital products. To be registered in your search, you check our work, we pay you for hosting and a payment gateway, but at some point, using your dominant position, you start to advertise your product, which harms other market participants. Also, I did not find in the condition of the author agreement with you that you have the right to advertise competitive products on the item pages of the authors. Due to the fact that many of your markets are have no competition among other companies, and your markets are still the main source of income for many authors who need to support themselves and their families, they cannot leave your markets as a matter of urgency. Therefore, you can continue to mock authors with your innovations as much as you want and not listen to what they say to you. You put them in such a position that they cannot leave your market as soon as possible, because of the reason that I’ve pointed above, but the same time because of your innovations the sales began to fall and they need to advertise their products themselves (which is logical), but at the same time you make a banner ad for a market that has the same categories of goods but with dumped price in relation to the main markets. Essentially you redirect the visitors that authors bring in to increase your own profit with the help of Elements.
But let’s postpone the moral and ethical side of your actions, it is simply not available here. I am interested, from the point of view of US laws, in this situation are you acting in the legal field? Perhaps there are no violations, I do not know, that why I ask. But if how you act was from the very beginning, then each author would choose whether he would agree to this before it was too late or grow their business on the other market or the other way, but not now when you have allowed all authors to grow their business on your platform and then you decide to increase your own profit of using the difficult position of authors who cannot leave your market quickly.
UPD: When I wrote in the in third paragraph that you as Google, I mean, for example, Google company tells you “- Hey, pay us for our AdWords and your site will be shown in our search as advertising on the key requests you need.” You pay, and Google starts to show your site, but when people go to the link, in the top of your site Google by Chrome adds a banner ad of their product that is competitive to your one. Is it fair competition? Some may say that Google is a business, and if you don’t like it, you can leave, but the fact is that when a company takes a monopoly position, other laws begin to come into force and other circumstances are taken into account.
