Topic: European Court Rules Publishers Cannot Oppose Resale of Digital Products

[NWR_insanolord]

It is now officially legal to resell licenses to digital products in Europe.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/31133

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that software publishers can't prevent consumers from reselling licenses for digital products.

The court's decision was that, contrary to what software publishers have claimed in license agreements, when a customer buys software they own a copy of the software, and that regardless of the license agreement, that means they can't oppose the consumer's ability to resell that copy.

The court further ruled that restricting the consumer's ability to resell digital products would "go beyond what is necessary to safeguard the specific subject-matter of the intellectual property concerned."

[BranDonk Kong]

THANK YOU 3 WEEKS AGO.

[NWR_insanolord]

Hey, this is a volunteer site and sometimes we get backlogged with news. Would you rather we just not report it?

[Chozo Ghost]

I agree its better late than never. Not everyone reads the forums so this is good for the lurkers who only view the main thing and nothing else. Its not old news if its new to them.

[tendoboy1984]

I've been saying all along that you download a copy of the actual game, not just a "license". If only the US courts respected consumer rights like this...

[TJ Spyke]

It IS just a license, even the physical copies are just licenses. This court ruling doesn't change that, it just says publishers can't stop use from transferring the license. Of course, this doesn't mean digital stores have to set up a structure to actually let you transfer them, and they can choose to void your warranty if you transfer it (the same way Apple can legally void your warranty if jailbreak your iPhone/iPod Touch).

[BranDonk Kong]

I think voiding your warranty would be "opposing the customers resale." And I wasn't being serious with my first post, hence the caps. However, Insano has just made me realize that this site will only report what I want it to report, so get ready for some changes.

[TJ Spyke]

Voiding your warranty doesn't stop the resale, which is what the court ruling says they can't stop. What they support or oppose doesn't matter as long as they follow the law.

[Tennindo]

I agree its better late than never. Not everyone reads the forums so this is good for the lurkers who only view the main thing and nothing else. Its not old news if its new to them.

this is true I'm one who doesnt use the forum often.

[Pixelated Pixies]

I'm all for it. Now let's wait and see if anything will come of this. I'm going to guess probably not, but it would be cool.

[Louieturkey]

It IS just a license, even the physical copies are just licenses. This court ruling doesn't change that, it just says publishers can't stop use from transferring the license. Of course, this doesn't mean digital stores have to set up a structure to actually let you transfer them, and they can choose to void your warranty if you transfer it (the same way Apple can legally void your warranty if jailbreak your iPhone/iPod Touch).

If your copy is linked to Steam and Steam does not allow you to sell it, that restricts your ability to sell the product.  So it really sounds to me like a structure does need to be set up to accommodate this now.

[NWR_insanolord]

This will mostly be useful for PC software that's not bought through something like Steam or the Mac App Store, with an original and independent license. Like, say, Photoshop. Games being tied to online identities will probably prevent this from being a major thing in gaming.

[TJ Spyke]

It IS just a license, even the physical copies are just licenses. This court ruling doesn't change that, it just says publishers can't stop use from transferring the license. Of course, this doesn't mean digital stores have to set up a structure to actually let you transfer them, and they can choose to void your warranty if you transfer it (the same way Apple can legally void your warranty if jailbreak your iPhone/iPod Touch).

If your copy is linked to Steam and Steam does not allow you to sell it, that restricts your ability to sell the product.  So it really sounds to me like a structure does need to be set up to accommodate this now.

It won't happen. The ruling does not say stores have to do anything to make it possible to transfer a license, nor could they really force stores to do it. Just because they can't stop you from selling it doesn't mean they have to provide you a way to do it.