PC French Court Says Valve Must Allow Steam Users To Resell Games

[Pikachu]

https://kotaku.com/french-court-says-valve-must-allow-steam-users-to-resel-1838259529

 

Quote

Back in 2015, Valve got sued by a French consumer organization called UFC-Que Choisir (not to be confused with non-French, non-consumer organization the Ultimate Fighting Championship). UFC-Que Choisir had a multitude of bones to pick with the longtime Steam steward, the biggest among them being that Steam doesn’t let users resell their games. Four years later, a French court has ruled in UFC-Que Choisir’s favor. Valve plans to appeal.

 

According to the French gaming site Numerama, as well as UFC-Que Choisir itself, the High Court of Paris ruled in UFC-Que Choisir’s favor earlier this week. If Valve’s appeal fails, this ruling stands to have ramifications not just in France, but across the European Union. Specifically, the court didn’t find Valve’s defense that Steam is a subscription service compelling. As a result, the court declared that users should be allowed to resell Steam games.

 

The court ruled in favor of UFC-Que Choisir on other counts, too. In its original suit, the organization had also taken aim at the fact that, if a user leaves Steam, Valve would keep whatever currency was left in their Steam Wallet. The recent ruling states that the company will instead have to reimburse users who request it. Valve must now also accept responsibility when users say an item on Steam caused them harm, even if it’s in beta. Valve’s rights to users’ mods and community content will also be diminished, and the company will have to clarify the conditions under which users can lose access to Steam for poor behavior.

 

If Valve refuses to change its rules and post the court’s decision to Steam within a month, it will have to pay a fine of up to 3,000 Euros per day for up to six months.

 

[Xbob42]

So what would happen if they ignored this and just paid that fine for six months? I assume that doesn't grant you freedom from the judgment.

[Bacon]

"Sorry EU, no more steam 4 U" - Gay Ben, 2019