New California law targets digital goods licensing

When you turn on your Xbox Series X, open the Microsoft Store and purchase Farming Simulator 22you may think that you own the game, but you are wrong. You actually paid for a license to play the game – not to own it. Companies can revoke the license at any time. It doesn’t happen too often, but it does happen, especially with older games: Ubisoft made headlines earlier this year when delisted racing game The crew in Decembertook its servers offline and then began revoking licenses for the game. Licensing versus actually owning a game once again becomes an issue when you consider where games go when you die – technically, many companies’ policies say it’s not possible to pass the license on to another person.

A new California bill (AB 2426

), signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is an attempt to bring transparency to the buying and selling of digital goods like movies, e-books and, yes, video games. California Rep. Jacqui Irwin introduced the billpartly after hearing about Ubisoft’s move The crew. The bill won’t change the fact that we license all games rather than actually owning them, but it will force companies operating in California to be more transparent about this. The companies and shops that would have to comply include Microsoft with the Microsoft Store, Valve with Steam, Sony with the PlayStation Store, Nintendo with its eShop and publishers with their own stores such as Ubisoft’s Ubisoft Store.

Polygon has reached out to all previously listed companies but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

The law is expected to take effect on January 1st and will prevent companies that operate digital storefronts from using words like “buy” or “purchase” unless the company is aware that it has licenses and does not sell “unrestricted ownership rights to the digital asset”. ” This notice must be given “separate and separate” from other conditions of purchase, according to the bill. The law does not apply to subscription-based services, free downloads like demos, or companies that offer “permanent offline downloading.”[s]” of digital goods. Companies will be fined for breaking the rules.

“By sending AB 2426 to Governor Newsom, California is now the first state to recognize that digital media retailers are engaging in false advertising when they use terms like “buy” and “buy” to promote digital media licenses “, says a professor at the University of Michigan Aaron Perzanowski said in a press release from Irwin. “Consumers around the world deserve to understand that when they spend money on digital movies, music, books and games, these so-called “purchases” can disappear without notice. There is still much work to be done to protect consumers’ digital rights, but AB 2426 is a critical step in the right direction.”

Digital purchases are already ubiquitous as physical media becomes increasingly difficult to find. Stores like Best Buy have stopped selling physical films altogetherand it wouldn’t be surprising if other retailers followed suit. Physical video games use the disc as a license, and that disc is yours. But a company could still take servers offline, for example – access is still not guaranteed.