Sony argues that PlayStation Store customers are sufficiently informed that digital purchases provide revocable licenses rather than ownership of the games themselves. The company is defending its disclosure practices in a California class-action lawsuit.

The question of digital ownership has returned to court. A group of players told the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that Sony does not make it sufficiently clear that money spent on the PlayStation Store buys access through a license rather than traditional ownership.

The complaint relies on a California rule requiring sellers of downloadable products to disclose that consumers are not receiving permanent ownership. Valve previously adjusted Steam so that the storefront directly tells customers before payment that they are purchasing a license, not the game itself.

The PlayStation Store instead states at checkout that a purchase is governed by the PlayStation Terms of Service and the Software Product License Agreement. Sony’s legal team says this is enough and that “no reasonable consumer” could be misled into believing the transaction transfers actual ownership.

The plaintiffs argue that the crucial details are buried in lengthy legal documents. Those terms do say the software is licensed rather than sold, but the message is not displayed as directly during the purchase process as it is on Steam.

Sony’s lawyers also argued that transferring true ownership would prevent the company from selling the same product to another customer. Their primary objective, however, is to move the dispute into private arbitration and avoid a class-action ruling that could establish a precedent for the wider digital distribution model. The judge has not yet ruled on the case.

Source: 3DJuegos