Interesting outcome from a recent inquiry in the EU, with the Court of Justice of the European Union declaring that buying and reselling any form of digital software is perfectly legal.
The official court finding is that "the exclusive right of distribution of a copy of a computer program covered by such a licence is exhausted on its first sale."
The new ruling applies to any customers residing in European Union member states, and applies to all purchases made through digital platform holders such as Steam or Origin.
The law states that the initial purchaser of the game license can sell it to someone else, allowing the mto download it directly from the publisher's website. Easier said than done at this stage considering Steam and Origin offer no means to sell your game licences to someone else.
It's not just games that the law covers, it includes all kinds of software including Windows, Adobe Creative Suite, anything with a licence key that can be bought digitally.
There is no word from digital platform holders as to whether they will allow users to sell their purchased goods.
By Stephen Heller - Bio