EU rules you CAN legally resell your downloaded Games, Software & DLC
 

In a move that will come as a strategic blow to the likes of Valve's Steam and it's ilk the EU Court of Justice has ruled in favour of the consumer in a recent copyright case brought by Oracle on the right of consumers to resell download only software products.

The ruling requires Valve, Ea, Origin, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and all the other digital distribution channels to allow some way of transferring ownership of games, software and DLC to another user, the onus is on the end user selling on the product to ensure it is removed from their system.

It's unclear at this stage what legal challenges can take place to this ruling as it is already the result of an appeal to an earlier judgement in a German court, there is presumably no higher court to take an appeal to?

Source: http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/...distribution/1

Court Ruling: http://curia.europa.eu/juris/documen...st&cid=5321907

Does this just apply to software? What about other goods? Such as music or movies for example? Is there scope for this ruling being applied there I wonder?

In theory yes I guess as they've all painted themselves into the same "you're licencing it not buying it" corner.

That'll put a gigantic spanner in the works.

Or they'll just look for a way to sell this stuff directly out of the US - as this sort of challenge probably won't have quite the legs there - or at least would complicate the legal side to the point of self-destruction.

all they will do is force everyone to agree to a new set of T&Cs that reword the licensing agreement to a 99 year non-transferable lease, on the basis that the ruling won't be retroactive. job done - net affect of ruling = zero.

Would this not then mean that you can sell your old WoW accounts and Blizzard cant do anything about it?

I always thought things like this ruling overrode any crafty T&Cs?

Notch up one for the little guy!

Interesting. :) we wait and see.