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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Macmillan fined £11.3m following SFO probe

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 22/07/2011 - 14:54 Macmillan Publishers has been fined more than £11m for "unlawful conduct" related to its education wing in east and west Africa. The publisher was under investigation following a report from the World Bank. A subsidiary of... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Magazine Rolls Out Print/Digital Subscriptions -- And Puts Up Another Web Pay Wall

Time magazine is making it easier for readers to subscribe to its digital and print editions. And harder for non-subscribers to read the magazine on the Web. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fathers Day fails to boost June book sales - BRC

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 12/07/2011 - 09:37 Widespread offers and Fathers Day failed to affect book sales falling in June compared to 2010, according to the British Retail Consortium. Figures out today show total sales in the UK were up 1.5% last month in comparison to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital surge fails to affect B&N bottom line

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 21/06/2011 - 15:49 Barnes & Noble has announced a full year loss of $74m (£45.6m), despite a surge in digital sales lead by its Nook ebook reader helping it to report an all-time high in yearly sales of $7bn (£4.3bn). read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Browne warns "society will pay" for library closures

Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 06/06/2011 - 08:59 The outgoing Children's Laureate Anthony Browne has warned society "will pay the price in the long term" for closing school and public libraries. In a letter to his successor, Browne urged them to campaign against their... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"Weak" UK fails to hold back Quarto

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 01/06/2011 - 09:16 Profit and sales have increased at co-edition publisher Quarto although it warned the UK market remains "weak". Ahead of today's annual general meeting, chairman and c.e.o. Laurence Orbach said sales were up 4% to $178.5m... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mitterrand calls for increase in booksellers' qualitative pay

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 08:18 French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand yesterday (16th May) called for publishers to increase booksellers' pay for their qualitiative work and for new measures to help shore up the sector, the French trade weekly... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EU consumer law could change returns period

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Fri, 06/05/2011 - 08:43 A London MEP has called on the EU Commission to intervene in a consumer directive which would double the amount of time customers have to return books, which he claims would increase paperwork and cost booksellers money. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Report: Variety on Block; Publisher says “Nonsense”

Variety was one of just four magazines kept by Reed Elsevier after it sold off more than 60 different properties over the last three years. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Execs' pay up at Pearson as profit grows

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 06/04/2011 - 14:58 Penguin group chief executive John Makinson took home £1.5m in pay in 2010, in a year when Penguin's sales grew 21% to £1.1bn and adjusted operating profit grew 19% to £106m. Makinson's pay rose by £150,000 thanks to a rise in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins pays tribute to Wynne Jones

Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Mon, 28/03/2011 - 15:21 HarperCollins has paid tribute to Diana Wynne Jones who passed away this weekend following a long illness. Victoria Barnsley, HarperCollins publisher and c.e.o., said: “Diana was one of our truly wonderful and much cherished... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dorchester Media Puts Remaining Magazines on the Block

After putting select teen and romance titles up for sale last month, New York City-based Dorchester Media has decided to sell the rest of its magazine stable, offering up the eight magazines that comprise the Woman's Romance Group, such as 92-year-old, 250,000-circ. flagship True Story. The move... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder pays six figure sum for two from Geraghty

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 15/03/2011 - 09:12 Hodder & Stoughton, along with Hachette Books Ireland, has bought rights to two new novels by Irish fiction author Ciara Geraghty for a "significant six figure sum". The deal for British Commonwealth rights including... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Spins Off Bill-Paying Service

The Hearst Corporation has launched the beta version of Manilla, a free personal account management system. George Kliavkoff has been named CEO of the service that allows consumers to securely link bank accounts, view statements, pay bills and manage subscriptions through one account. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EU Raids Digital Book Sellers in Cartel Investigation

The European Union’s competition regulators carried out unannounced inspections into various eBook companies on Tuesday. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-03-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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CUP publishing staff reject 2% pay increase

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 18/02/2011 - 08:15 Publishing staff at Cambridge University Press (CUP) have voted to reject a pay increase of 2%. The proposed pay increase, which CUP has described as reasonable and in line with other pay settlements, has led the Unite union to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Even $600 is too much for many gadget geeks to pay for Motorola XOOM

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews Late yesterday I asked: "Would you pay $600 for the Motorola XOOM tablet?" Whoa, did you respond. Reaction is mixed, but those of you who own Android phones, particularly Motorola models, are more likely to answer "Yes." However, plenty of readers still wouldn't pay $600... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EU Publishers Blast Apple's IPad Subscription Plan

European publishers have added their voice to the chorus of criticism of Apple’s plans for iPad newspaper subscriptions. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dorchester Media Puts Entertainment, Select Romance Mag Assets on the Block

New York City-based Dorchester Media LLC is fielding offers for the assets of its Lifestyle Entertainment Teen Magazine and Romance Groups. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dire January fails to thaw frozen early 2010 sales

Written By: Philip Stone Spending at UK booksellers in January 2011 was up just 0.7% on a dire January last year when the "big freeze" plunged book sales to a five-year low. According to Nielsen BookScan data, £108.6m was spent at UK booksellers in the four weeks to 29th January, up just... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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