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 ]
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The Wisconsin Historical Society Press scored big this fall by signing on bestselling author Michael Perry, who wanted a collection of essays published with a quick turn-around. It's a story of patience, persistence -- and nimbleness. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Our weekly round-up of web buzz looks at Italy's RCS Libri / Rizzoli Lab effort in co-publishing; self-publishing in Germany; author contracts; and more. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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David Granger, Ad Age's 2013 Editor of the Year, has spent the last 16 years at the helm of Esquire magazine -- a time of both great upheaval and unprecedented innovation in the magazine business. He helped steer the Hearst title through a deep recession and out the other side, where it's now... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The harmonisation of VAT across print and digital books could move a step closer this week with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reviewers label latest book sad, desperate and irrelevant - but readers beg to differ. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the New Republic, Evan Hughes argues that the book business has fared far better than music, movies and other media in sustaining its value to consumers. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reviewers label latest book sad, desperate and irrelevant - but readers beg to differ. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin has paid tribute to thriller giant Tom Clancy, who has died at the age of 66. Tom Clancy... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Campaign group Europe-v-Facebook received Facebook's response to complaints about the social networks' privacy policy on Tuesday, but was barred from publishing them by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner. Europe-v-Facebook wrote to the DPC over two years ago alleging that a lack of... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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According to ad-blocking data provider PageFair, more users are now making use of browser plugins such as Adblock Plus to remove ads from the sites they visit. A recent report it published claimed the trend “is threatening the business mode ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-09-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Humble business model can apply to anything. Now, you can pay what you want for stand-up comedy in addition to ebooks, music and video games. For the next two weeks, you can get comedy specials from Maria Bamford, Tig Notaro, Hannibal Buress and Jim Norton for as little or as much as you... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Now you’re talking--Smart Interaction Lab introduces three simple, toy-like instruments designed to build a better brainstorm. The modern brainstorm was invented in the 1930s, and then officially inked onto paper in 1953 in the book Applied Imagination, by Alex Osborn, the "O" in ad agency... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nearly one in four browsers are armed with an ad-blocking tool, reducing revenue at free-content websites, an Irish company said last week. The popularity of ad blocking—driven by users' frustrations with intrusive, distracting or just-plain-ugly-and-noisy ads—threatens the free-for-all model... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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21st Century Fox has bought a 5 per cent stake in Vice Media, the digital media company that evolved from Vice magazine, in a deal which values it at $1.4 billion (£895 million). Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2013-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Following up on a story on ESPN's global dominance, The Atlantic has published a series of charts that show why the sports network remains so expensive––and why men continue to pay for its premium. The network's internal research, which polls its subscribers (take from that what you will), finds... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-08-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Benchmarks are the best way to gauge a notebook’s prowess with applications such as office suites, photo and video editors, video players, games, and the like. Aesthetics are another important consideration, because you'll likely be staring at the thing for the next several years. By those... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2013-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hipstamatic Oggl app users might want to rethink those subscriptions. Select Windows Phone 8 imaging apps, such as Instance, may no longer be able to upload images to Instagram's photo sharing service. According to a spokesperson's comment published on The Verge, the site has updated its API,... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A new bi-annual publication dedicated to the unpaid workforce looks anything but entry-level. Intern magazine marks a new meta-high in the publishing industry: Unpaid interns who work in media are paying plenty of attention to a media launch dedicated to unpaid interns. If you had to think... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After the European Commission accepted offers from Apple and four publishers to free up ebook pricing restrictions in December 2012, it's now accepted Penguin's commitment to do the same. Much like Penguin's vow to the US DOJ, it will end its agency agreements with Apple and other retailers, and... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers including Maxim, Radar Online, Guitar World and USA Today Sports Media are experimenting with a pay wall that instead of charging readers requires them to watch an advertiser's video. The tactic, which uses a system ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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