EULA & ToS
7 articles
What is an EULA? The contract you sign without ever reading it
A video game is not an object you own: it is a contract you accept. The EULA (End User License Agreement) is the same for every game from a publisher, it can change after your "signature", and almost no one reads it. Here is how it works.
Analysis of Ubisoft's EULA in Light of the The Crew Case
A clause-by-clause breakdown of Ubisoft's End User Licence Agreement (CLUF). Ubisoft tries to characterise your purchase as a mere revocable licence, but that characterisation is not enough to erase your rights. An analysis in light of French and European law.
Unfair terms in game T&Cs: what you need to know
A clause that creates a significant imbalance to your detriment is "deemed unwritten", even if you accepted it. How European unfair terms law applies to the T&Cs of digital games.
Buying video games: do you really own what you pay for?
Physical or digital, buying a game makes you the owner of nothing. You acquire a licence to use it, governed by a contract. What that means, in practical terms, for your rights.
The eternal physical game: the great illusion
Does owning the disc guarantee that you can play forever? No. Since the arrival of connected consoles, a simple update or a change in licensing policy can disable a game, even on a physical medium.
Usus, abusus, fructus: what "owning" a game should really mean
Civil law defines ownership through three attributes inherited from Roman law: usus, fructus, abusus. Applied to dematerialised video games, they reveal everything the licence strips away from you.
The digital era and its licences: what rights do you get depending on what you buy?
Perpetual licence, subscription, live-service game, free-to-play: they do not all grant you the same rights to play, keep and resell. A short guide to the licences of dematerialised games.