Erroneous Reporting in The Hindu

Berlin | New Delhi, 30 July 2012

The article “Competition panel finds Springer guilty of unfair trade practices” written by Bindu D. Menon and published online in The Hindu Business Line on 5 July 2012 is incorrect.

The article falsely states that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found Springer guilty of abuse of a dominant position. Unfortunately, the reporter based her story on a dissenting Commissioner’s view and not on the final judgement. Springer was absolved of this accusation, and the CCI determined:

“Based on the above analysis of the market, the Commission finds that the available data and evidence is insufficient to establish the dominance of Springer India, and consequently, the 'question' of abuse of dominance does not arise. Also no violation of Section 3 of Competition Act, 2002 is established. The case is, therefore, closed.”

The Hindu has added a disclaimer at the end of the article online in which it “regrets the error”. Despite this disclaimer, a number of our customers and business relations in India have expressed concern about this article, which is still online, and which is still misleading.

We are working with our legal advisors and the The Hindu to make it more clear that the article is completely inaccurate (beyond a few lines at the end of it with a “correction”).
Springer has not, does not, and will not engage in business practices which are illegal or are contrary to our own Code of Conduct and Compliance Guidelines.