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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France, Germany want EU to take a tougher stance on tech firms

Germany and France have put pressure on the European Commission to take a closer look at how big tech companies operate in the European Union, a move which could lead to tougher competition regulation for companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon.com and Facebook.French and German officials asked... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-11-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google to Help Publishers Make Money by Blocking Ads

Google, the biggest seller of online ads, has created a way for publishers to make money without ads.Google on Thursday introduced an invitation-only crowdfunding program called Contributor that lets people pay $1 to $3 each month to visit sites devoid of ads. The Onion, Mashable, WikiHow, Urban... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-11-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Popular messaging apps fail EFF's security review

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[ PC World | 2014-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spain is making Google (and others) pay news publishers a tax

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[ Engadget | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dunham slammed for not paying artists

Girls star Lena Dunham has come under fire for seeking performers to work for free on her lucrative book tour. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2014-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ PC World | 2014-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tampa Bay Times Cuts Employee Pay 5 Percent, Reduces Severance Payments

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[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EU court rules libraries can digitize books without permission

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[ Engadget | 2014-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EU Court: Libraries Can Digitize, But Not Distribute

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Libraries may digitize books without permission, EU top court rules

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[ PC World | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Martin Amis's holocaust 'comedy' fails to find German publisher

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Publishing Pay Rose 2.8% in 2013

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Blocks Captain America, Muppets in Price War With Disney

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