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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Digital Publishers: It's Time to Think About Paying to Promote Content

There is a long-held belief among content publishers -- including many we are partnered with -- that they shouldn't pay to amplify their content. Their clear aversion most often comes from some dogmatic belief that quality content doesn't require paid promotion. For them, paying to promote... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple to pay $400m over ebooks

Apple agrees to pay as much as $400m to settle a lawsuit over accusations it colluded with publishers to fix ebooks prices. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Could Pay Consumers $400 Million—or Nothing

Under a proposed agreement to settle damages in its ebook price-fixing case, Apple would pay consumers $400 million if Judge Denise Cote's 2013 decision is affirmed on appeal. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple agrees to pay $450m settlement in ebook price fixing case

iPad manufacturer to pay damages contingent upon appeals court ruling over whether it conspired with publishers to fix pricesApple has agreed to pay $450m (£262.7m) in the US to settle claims the iPad manufacturer conspired with five major publishers to fix ebook prices.It came ahead of damages... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple agrees to pay up to $400 million in ebooks price-fixing case

Apple has reached a settlement in a long-standing case that accused the company of fixing the price on ebooks, with the company paying up to $400 million, depending on the outcome of its appeal in the case, a law firm has announced. Apple would pay the $400 million in the class-action lawsuit if... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the UK, Traditional Publishing’s Pay for Authors “Not Fair”

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-07-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paypal blocks Belgian LGBT bookstore

Paypal has blocked the Belgian bookstore ‘t Vershil, specialising in books and DVDs for a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Angry Nerd: Why Guardians of the Galaxy Works Where Spider-Man Fails Hard

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[ Wired | 2014-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple opts for an out of court settlement to avoid $800m eBook fine

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[ Betanews | 2014-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Crowdfunding Platform Pentian Pays Writers and Readers

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ PC World | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ PC World | 2014-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harman: UK can 'pay its way in the world' through literature

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[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2014-04-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2014: Making Digital Pay at Cenveo Publisher Services

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[ Engadget | 2014-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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