Steam now explicitly states you don’t own the digital games you’re buying

Have you ever bought an app or game from a digital storefront, only for it to suddenly disappear and become inaccessible without warning? It’s both confusing and frustrating, which is why some governments are stepping in and hoping to make things clearer for consumers. Gavin Newsom, governor of California, recently signed a new law (AB 2426) that involves the purchasing of digital goods and services. Under the new law, online storefronts that sell digital copies of video games, music, movies, TV shows, and ebooks must be explicit as to whether customers actually own what they’re purchasing. Some digital services are already adapting to the new regulations, which aren’t set to be enforced until next year. Steam is one such company, having already implemented a change in the Steam storefront that explicitly notifies customers that they’re purchasing “a license for the product on Steam” and don’t actually own the game outright. What does that mean for you? Well, a license is just permission for you to access content that’s provided by the service (i.e., the game). If the content is made unavailable for whatever reason, you aren’t entitled to access in perpetuity. (As opposed to buying a digital download, in which case you’re buying permission to download and keep said files.) According to Engadget, this new wording in Steam is used in all countries and territories, not just the United States. Further reading: Why digital games can vanish in a heartbeat Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2024-10-11 19:19:30 UTC ]
News tagged with: #game outright #digital services #digital download #explicitly states #digital games #digital storefront #suddenly disappear #gavin newsom #recently signed #digital goods #online storefronts #video games #tv shows #made unavailable #ebooks

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Curtis Brown digital arm Studio 28 launches next year

Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency will officially launch its digital publishing arm, Studio 28, in March next year. Studio 28 will publish in the UK and other territories, seeking rights from authors already on the agency’s books or “rediscovering and reinventing literary gems from 100... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Woven Digital Raises $18 Million to Keep Pace With BuzzFeed, Vox, Vice

Another week, another digital media company with a big funding round.Woven Digital has raised $18 million in the company's second funding round since its 2010 launch. Woven intends to use the funding money to add more people to its ad sales and editorial teams, grow its video business into... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sphere buys Little Coffee Shop sequel

Sphere has acquired two more novels from Deborah Rodriguez, including a sequel to her debut, The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul. Catherine Burke, publisher at Sphere fiction, bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Australia New Zealand and Canada, to the novels from Lizzy Kremer of David... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Ecco Buys Debut Novel 'The Nest' for Seven Figures

In a seven figure deal, Ecco has acquired world English rights to Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney's debut novel, 'The Nest' about, as HC put it, a "wonderfully dysfunctional" family. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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H&S buys Celtic Britain tale

Hodder & Stoughton has acquired a “captivating, full-blooded" debut set in Celtic Britain. Editor Emily Kitchin bought British Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada and Australia New Zealand, to Skin and its sequel by Ilka Tampke from Sarah Lutyens at Lutyens and Rubinstein on behalf of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ASCEL: 'public libraries can help children with digital'

Public libraries have a vital role in helping children navigate the digital landscape, the Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians (ASCEL) said in a report issued today (2nd December). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Octopus buys Ilex

Hachette's Octopus Publishing Group has bought Lewes-based illustrated reference publisher Ilex. Ilex will become an imprint of Octopus, with its titles distributed from the LBS warehouse at Littlehampton. Ilex founder and publisher Alastair Campbell is retiring, but there will be no other... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's socioeconomic status 'affects digital reading preference'

Print books are more popular with three to five-year-olds than reading on devices, but children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds spend more time reading on devices than their wealthier peers, according to a new report from the National Reading Trust (NLT) and Pearson. For the report... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital Audiobook Lending Is Finding Its Groove

By all indications, digital audiobook lending is growing in popularity among library patrons across a number of demographics. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Management buy-out for Lovell Johns

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Blake Society urges support for 'Jerusalem' cottage buy

The Blake Society is asking people to donate funds via text to help buy the cottage William Blake lived in, as it races to meet a deadline later this week. Blake’s cottage in Felpham, on the Sussex coast, is the location where he wrote the words for the hymn "Jerusalem". The charity has been... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary Review launches digital archive

Literary Review has launched a digital archive of all of its issues over the last 35 years for app and print subscribers. The digital archive ha been launched in conjunction with the announcement that all print subscribers to the magazine will also gain free access to the digital edition of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Virgin buys business book from basketball coach

Ebury Publishing imprint Virgin Books has acquired a “timeless business book” by a basketball coach. Ed Faulkner, Ebury deputy publishing director, bought UK and Commonwealth rights to Eleven Rings by Phil Jackson from Simon Trewin at WME. During his career as head coach of the Chicago Bulls... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cheil Buying Stake in U.K.'s Iris Worldwide in Bid to Challenge Big Networks

South Korean ad company Cheil Worldwide has reached a deal to buy a stake in Iris Worldwide, a London-based international agency network that works with clients including Samsung, Reckitt Benckiser, Shell, Adidas, Barclaycard, Domino's and Diageo.The companies declined to disclose terms of the... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital sales hit supermarkets 'more than other book retailers'

Big publishers are likely to feel a squeeze on their supermarket sales as a result of the sector experiencing a “once in a generation change”. Two of Britain’s biggest supermarkets, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, are also big retailers of books. Both retailers reported slumps in profits in their recent... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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First Pan Mac buy for Tonkinson

Pan Macmillan’s Carole Tonkinson has made her first acquisition for the publisher’s new non-fiction imprint. Tonkinson bought UK and Commonwealth rights to Sharon Salzberg’s Real Love from Joy Harris of the Joy Harris Literary Agency in New York in a joint deal with Bob Miller at Macmillan US... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The State of Licensed Publishing in 2014

Executives overseeing licensed publishing programs are, like publishers in general, monitoring the impact of digital technologies on their businesses and dealing with a challenging and competitive retail landscape. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reinventing Book Printing: Digital Printing for Every Stage in a Book’s Life

Multinational publishers know that regional book editions increase their options for selling titles, especially in the education segment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Mac buys Taraborrelli on Beyonce

Pan Macmillan has bought J Randy Taraborrelli’s new biography of Beyoncé. Editorial director Ingrid Connell acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Dorie Simmonds of the Dorie Simmonds Agency Ltd on behalf of Grand Central Publishing. Connell said: “J Randy’s books are always insightful,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Casemate Buys IPM

The Oxford-based Casemate Group is to acquire International Publishers Marketing, the trade book distributor based in Dulles, Va. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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