Valve fails to get out of paying its EU geo-blocking fine

Valve has failed to convince a court that it didn't infringe EU law by geo-blocking activation keys, according to a new ruling. The company argued that, based on copyright law, publishers had the right to charge different prices for games in different countries. However, the EU General Court confirmed that its geo-blocking actions "infringed EU competition law"and that copyright law didn't apply."Copyright is intended only to ensure for the right holders concerned protection of the right to exploit commercially the marketing or the making available of the protected subject matter, by the grant of licences in return for payment of remuneration," it wrote in a statement. "However, it does not guarantee them the opportunity to demand the highest possible remuneration or to engage in conduct such as to lead to artificial price differences between the partitioned national markets."The original charges centered around activation keys. The commission said Valve and five publishers (Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax) agreed to use geo-blocking so that activation keys sold in some countries — like Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Latvia — would not work in other member states. That would prevent someone in, say, Germany buying a cheaper key in Latvia, where prices are lower. However, doing so violates the EU's Digital Single Market rules, which enforces an open market across the EU. The five developers were given a reduced fine of €7.8 million (over $9.4... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-09-27 12:20:53 UTC ]
News tagged with: #koch media #zenimax agreed #czech republic #member states #germany buying #cheaper key #open market #reduced fine #full €1 #locking keys #region locks #local laws #original €1 #ten days #copyright law

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Elections in India and the EU Mean a Flood of Homegrown Fake News

“Stupefying speed.” Bloomberg checked in with Vishvas News, Facebook’s largest Indian-language fact-checking contractor, to see how things went during India’s general elections. (Results Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-05-23 18:00:08 UTC ]
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Far-Right Propaganda Floods Facebook Ahead of EU Elections

Fake accounts spread white-nationalist messages and amassed larger followings than actual far-right parties before being taken down, according to a new report. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2019-05-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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What Tech Companies Pay Employees in 2019

Marvel at the median income at Google and Facebook, but remember: Reducing the pay of tens of thousands of people to a single number has its shortcomings. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2019-05-21 16:36:43 UTC ]
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Facebook and Google Pressured EU Experts to Soften Fake News Regulations, Say Insiders

Google and Facebook pressured and “arm-wrestled” a group of experts to soften European guidelines on online disinformation and fake news, Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2019-05-21 15:02:38 UTC ]
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Google blocks Huawei and ‘Game of Thrones’ bows out: Monday Wake-Up Call

Welcome to Ad Age’s Wake-Up Call, our daily roundup of advertising, marketing, media and digital news. You can get an audio version of this briefing on your Alexa device; sign up here.   What people are talking about today: Google has suspended business with Huawei in a move that will severely... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-20 10:22:56 UTC ]
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Hearst’s Michael Clinton on Retirement, ‘Failing Fast’ and the Future

From start to finish, Michael Clinton’s tenure in media is an unusual one. First off, he started as a business reporter for DNR, the now defunct men’s wear industry paper and a brother publication to WWD under the Fairchild Fashion umbrella. Not a typical training ground for marketing... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2019-05-17 17:29:25 UTC ]
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Apple Pay can be used for iTunes, App Store and Apple Book purchases

You can now use Apple Pay to make purchases from iTunes, the App Store and Apple Books. You can also use it for Apple Music and iCloud storage subscriptions. MacRumors spotted the change in a recently updated support document. The added Apple Pay opt... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-05-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Twist, Judge Orders B&N to Help Pay Former CEO's Legal Costs

Among three decisions handed down at a May 6 conference, Judge John G. Koeltl ruled that Barnes & Noble's countersuit against former CEO Demos Parneros can proceed. But in a twist, the judge held that an indemnification clause in Parneros's contract called for the company to advance... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Ireland pays tribute to 'brilliant' publicist Daly

Hachette Ireland has paid tribute to the "wonderful" books publicist Margaret Daly, who has died. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook anticipates federal privacy fine of up to $5 billion, sets aside $3 billion for payment

Facebook said it expects a fine of up to $5 billion from the Federal Trade Commission, which is investigating whether the social network violated its users' privacy. The company set aside $3 billion in its quarterly earnings reportWednesday as a contingency against the possible penalty but... Continue reading at Baltimore Sun

[ Baltimore Sun | 2019-04-25 02:15:00 UTC ]
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Pearson pays tribute to employee killed in Sri Lanka bombings

Pearson c.e.o. John Fallon has paid tribute to employee Dieter Kowalski, who was killed in the Sri Lanka bombings on Easter Sunday.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber pays tribute to 'gifted' author and journalist Lyra McKee

Tributes have been paid to 29-year-old “gifted" Lyra McKee, a journalist and debut Faber author, who was shot while observing rioting in Londonderry's Creggan estate. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette publishes Ethnicity Pay Gap report

Hachette has published an Ethnicity Pay Gap report, one of only a handful of UK companies to do so.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EU copyright law passes final hurdle

The Council of the European Union has approved the EU’s new law on copyright, making digital platforms like Google and Facebook legally responsible for content they host. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing figures express frustration at gender pay gap results

Figures in the publishing industry have expressed frustration at the latest round of gender pay gap reports, which showed little progress had been made since 2017. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Prove That Investing in Talent Pays Off

Layoffs are not a new trend in the industry. They've become so frequent at both digital and print publishers that the news of new rounds of cuts is almost unsurprising.  But not all publishers are feeling the pressures to cut staff when budgets get tighter and revenue streams become shallow.... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rugby site closure swings PRH pay gap

Penguin Random House UK’s overall gender pay gap has swung in favour of men, with women now earning 3% less than men working at the company, on the median calculation. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fletcher pays tribute to sci-fi writer Vonda N McIntyre

Vonda N McIntyre’s UK publisher has paid tribute to the award-winning science fiction writer who died this week, aged 70. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury median gender pay gap rises to 21.7%

Bloomsbury Publishing’s median gender pay gap has grown to 21.7% in 2018 from 17.2% the year before although its mean figure fell slightly, according to its latest report. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Gender pay gap static at HarperCollins

HarperCollins’ gender pay gap has remained broadly static with the publisher saying it is "confident" of change long term after introducing initiatives including enhanced parental leave, balanced shortlists for senior roles and a blind recruitment process. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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