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Court Outlaws German Weather Service's Free Weather App

posted by martyb on Saturday March 14 2020, @01:34AM   Printer-friendly
from the monetizing-taxpayer-funded dept.

DannyB writes:

Court outlaws German Weather Service's free weather app

WetterOnline has won its case against Germany's national weather service. The company sued the service over the anti-competitive nature of its free weather forecast app.

The German Weather Service (DWD) will no longer be allowed to provide general weather forecasts in a free mobile phone app after a federal court ruled in favor of a private firm on Thursday.

[...] the national meteorological service will only be permitted to offer extreme weather warnings for free and that a DWD app offering general weather forecasts must contain advertisements or be purchased by users.

<sarcasm>
No national weather service could ever make a profit by giving away weather information for free.
</sarcasm>

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Chocolate on Saturday March 14 2020, @03:49AM (3 children)

    by Chocolate (8044) on Saturday March 14 2020, @03:49AM (#971017) Journal

    Do they have a legal right to those profits? Exclusively?

    --
    Bit-choco-coin anyone?
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by anubi on Saturday March 14 2020, @04:15AM (1 child)

    by anubi (2828) on Saturday March 14 2020, @04:15AM (#971024) Journal

    I'd like to see the authors and passers of this kind of crap publically doxxed. By name, position, and how much the represented public is paying for their salary, healthcare, and retirement benefits.

    To me, this is pure theft, using public funds to acquire weather data, then awarding a private entity exclusive "rights" to monetize private profit from it.

    I feel like a fool being the sucker who obeys this kind of law, while others game the system, using legislators instead of guns.

    --
    "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 14 2020, @06:15AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 14 2020, @06:15AM (#971059)

      Never work in the public service. You won't last a month.

  • (Score: 2) by dry on Sunday March 15 2020, @02:54AM

    by dry (223) on Sunday March 15 2020, @02:54AM (#971446) Journal

    They're working on it.