California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill into law that will force storefronts to admit that you don't actually own your digitally purchased games, films, and TV shows - you're just licensing them.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill into law that won’t stop companies from taking away your digitally purchased video games, movies, and TV shows, but it’ll at least force them to be a little more transparent about it.

As spotted by The Verge, the law, AB 2426, will prohibit storefronts from using the words “buy, purchase, or any other term which a reasonable person would understand to confer an unrestricted ownership interest in the digital good or alongside an option for a time-limited rental.” The law won’t apply to storefronts which state in “plain language” that you’re actually just licensing the digital content and that license could expire at any time, or to products that can be permanently downloaded.

The law will go into effect next year, and companies who violate the terms could be hit with a false advertising fine. It also applies to e-books, music, and other forms of digital media.

  • @finitebanjo
    -1•2 months ago

    I think its an incredibly weak argument to say that its a “commercial advantage” for either person unless they’re using the product to create wealth or satisfaction.

    Mere access to media is rarely if ever a commercial advantage of any sort.

    At most the copyright holders could sue the people who redistributed it with a single loss of sale, but that would be hard to prove on its own and the court would allow a fraction of the claim to be used as damages.