French Court rules that Steam users can resell their games

[HEXUS]

Decision will apply across the EU, if Valve's appeal doesn't succeed.

Read more.

[ik9000]

Have it valve! And it comes just in time for us to leave the EU and watch from poverty exploit island while our cousins across the channel benefit.

And pro-brexit folk will no doubt claim it is another one of those "EU rules tying us up in red tape".

[Tabbykatze]

This is quite interesting but also very far reaching.

Currently when you purchase digital goods from a platform you are purchasing a lease/license/right to access the goods but not actually purchasing the goods themselves. What this ruling is effectively stating (as an element of the plaintiffs argument) that users are actually purchasing an ownership of the digital goods and not long term leasing them from the platform.

If the appeal fails and this goes ahead, this will create a legal precedent going forwards for all digital goods. This means purchasing Kindle books, music on a streaming platform and all those other digital streaming services you currently purchase "rights to access" will have to change to an ownership model. This does not affect subscription model services.

By stating you own a digital good and have actually purchased an ownership of the product means you can resell it. Digital goods cannot depreciate except for when the product itself drops in price. That means it's not a second hand market but becomes a lower form of a grey market. Does this also mean that a company going under that provided digital goods must provide the product to all users who purchased it in the past as part of their adminiatration/liquidation?

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just shakes up the digital goods market.

Have it valve!

This doesn't just affect Valve, it creates a far reaching precedent.

[Jonj1611]

Interesting, now I can offload 100 odd games I have never played yeah yeah in time if appeal unsuccessful and all that

[darcotech]

I always thought that all digital goods should be considered as ownership of license of said product for personal use (or commercial in the case of commercial software).
This should be the right and the fairest way. That would mean also that if I bought some game/movie/music on CD/DVD, I paid for support (optical disk in this case) and personal license.
So, I should not be forced to buy again this license if suddenly the support format has changed (like buying again on the online video store) or DVD that Blu-ray than UHD version.
As of now, if you buy DVD, then Blu-ray, than UHD Blu-ray, you are actually paying 3 times license for the same movie and 3 different supports/formats. We should pay only once for license and three times for the support. That would be fair.

For games that means, no matter where you bought it (Steam, Microsoft, Epic...) you automatically have them in all those stores. So, in the end, only the most consumer-oriented store will win.

Now this would be fair to us consumers, not to pay several times for the same thing. But Media corps would not like it as that is probably just free money we are giving them for the same thing.
Their opposition will be STRONG. On the other hand, money is in our pockets(accounts). So, we (consumers) could actually win this one. If we stay united. Utopian, right?

[AETAaAS]

Next week:

SURPRISE, Steam is pleased to announce our new Steam Access and Steam Access Gold subscription services! Steam will no longer be selling games in the EU and everyone will be enrolled into our new program to enjoy access to the thousands of games avaliable on Steam, with time limited exclusives for our Gold Members. Click here to opt out.

[MajorZod]

Next week:

SURPRISE, Steam is pleased to announce our new Steam Access and Steam Access Gold subscription services! Steam will no longer be selling games in the EU and everyone will be enrolled into our new program to enjoy access to the thousands of games avaliable on Steam, with time limited exclusives for our Gold Members. Click here to opt out.

That last bit of text needs to be dark grey font so it blends into the steam application

[Ttaskmaster]

They may have the right to resell, but I don't see why Steam has to provide the facilities for them to do so...

Not unless you get charged each time you download and install the game, which would be the same as having to re-buy a film on DVD or Blu-Ray or whatever.
Break your download or accidentally delete a file? Got to buy a new download.

[Corky34]

.....thousands of games avaliable on Steam, with time limited exclusives for our Gold Members. Click here to opt out.

*click* *Click* *CLICK*

Huh, nothings happening...I don't want a gold member.

[jamz4]

so i guess that means companies will makes games f2p with in app purchases to unlock the next chapter n rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbish

[Ttaskmaster]

I don't want a gold member.

It's not so bad. You just have to be careful what you touch with it...

[Hoonigan]

Where does this stop? Are we going to be allowed to sell songs we purchased on iTunes? What about movies purchased through Amazon's digital service? Just a couple of examples.

This could have much larger implications.

[DevDrake]

Steam will probably take a cut from reselling so they will keep their money.
Lets see what happens

[Saracen999]

And pro-brexit folk will no doubt claim it is another one of those "EU rules tying us up in red tape".

No, but we would point out that not every decision that comes out of a French court is one we want to be bound by. Nor out of EU-central either, for that marter.

I've already said, repeatedly, that wanting to be out of the EU is a balance, and that not everything about the EU is bad. To imply that is a gross misrepreentation of the pro-Brexit position, at least for the vast majority. Examples I've given include both GDPR and consumer law like the DSR and it's replacenent, but there are many, many more.

I would, however, suggest that having our own currency, setting our own interest rates and, oh, being about to be able to set our own trade policy might be of a smidge more strategic relevance than reselling Steam games.

And yes, before any says it, we currently have our own currency and set our own interest rates whike in, but that relies on maintaining opt-outs, and then consider how many of our opt-outs have been voluntarily and irrevocably surrendered in the last couple of decades. It only takes a Europhile government with a decent majority and they're gone permanently. The only thing that stopped Blair doing it was implacable opposition from Brown, short of his five tests being met, and the schism in Labour that meant Blair could neither ride roughshod over Brown, nor fire him.

Of course, had Blair got his way and integrated us into the Euro and ECB, getting Brexit now would either have been impossiible or at least massively more difficult and expensive. So currently having Euro opt-outs doesn't mean we always will, going forward.

And did you really need to bring Brexit into yet another thread?

[Tabbykatze]

And did you really need to bring Brexit into yet another thread?

Always!

[Iota]

Have it valve! And it comes just in time for us to leave the EU and watch from poverty exploit island while our cousins across the channel benefit.

And pro-brexit folk will no doubt claim it is another one of those "EU rules tying us up in red tape".

So if Valve's appeal is unsuccessful and they do one of these things;

- Provide marketplace to sell games but take a 99% cut of the sales - remember it's against ToS to sell the Steam account which results in a banned account if caught (how they treat access to their own digital platform is up to Valve not the EU, it's not a product for sale).
- Expensive subscription requirement to use the service in the EU only.
- Increase costs of goods as it's no longer a "license to use".
- Remove ability to purchase games in the EU region (extreme example!)

Would you be complaining about being outside the EU? The potential implications this has on other digital only services, various digital storefronts not limited to just games, then this becomes a worrying development. I don't actually agree with this development, this has nothing to do with the UK voting to leave the EU or not, to try and make it about that is disingenuous.