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EU court rules gamers are free to resell digital games

The Court of Justice of the European Union, as reported by Eurogamer, has ruled that publishers are legally unable to stop people reselling digital games.

Said the court: "An author of software cannot oppose the resale of his 'used' licences allowing the use of his programs downloaded from the internet."

The exclusive right covering the distribution of a copy of a game is "exhausted on its first sale," said the ruling.

This means you are legally able to resell downloaded computer games, whether no matter where you bought it and no matter what EULA is associated with the retailer.

The ruling continues: "Therefore, even if the licence agreement prohibits a further transfer, the rightholder can no longer oppose the resale of that copy."

Big stuff. There's a lot of detail in the EG story.

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Patrick Garratt avatar

Patrick Garratt

Founder & Publisher (Former)

Patrick Garratt is a games media legend - and not just by reputation. He was named as such in the UK's 'Games Media Awards', the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. After garnering experience on countless gaming magazines, he joined Eurogamer and later split from that brand to create VG247, putting the site on the map with fast, 24-hour a day coverage, and assembling the site's earliest editorial teams. He retired from VG247, and the games industry, in 2017.

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