A French court ruling on 17 September in a case brought by the French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir against Valve found that purchasers of video games on Valve’s digital platform, Steam, are permitted to resell them. This ruling contradicts established EU law and should be overturned on appeal.

Simon Little, CEO of ISFE, said: “This French ruling flies in the face of established EU law which recognises the need to protect digital downloads from the ease of reproduction allowed by the Internet.  Far from supporting gamers, this ruling, if it stands, would dramatically and negatively impact investment in the creation, production and publication of, not just video games, but of the entire output of the digital entertainment sector in Europe.  If Europe’s creators cannot protect their investments and their intellectual property, the impact on both industry and consumers will be disastrous.”

According to EU copyright law, when it comes to digital and streaming services, every use must be subject to the authorisation of the rightholder and copyright does not expire with their first sale, as it does with physical goods. Physical goods are subject to the “distribution right” and to the “exhaustion doctrine” which means that the purchaser has the right to resell the goods if they were first put on the market with the authorisation of the copyright owner. This is not the case with digital downloads which are subject to the “communication to the public right”, meaning that the purchaser does not have a right to sell them on, without the copyright owner’s permission.”

Gamers are at the heart of what we do.

ISFE ensures that the voice of a responsible video games ecosystem is heard and understood, that its creative and economic potential is supported and celebrated, and that gamers around the world continue to enjoy great gaming experiences.

Video games are creative works with an interactive element. Video games have been recognised as complex works by the Court of Justice of the European Union and are protected by copyright for both their non-software elements (music, audiovisual, graphics) and their software elements).

The 2001/29/EC Directive on Copyright and Neighboring Rights provides that:

“(29) The question of exhaustion does not arise in the case of services and on-line services in particular. This also applies with regard to a material copy of a work or other subject-matter made by a user of such a service with the consent of the rightholder. Therefore, the same applies to rental and lending of the original and copies of works or other subject-matter which are services by nature. Unlike CD-ROM or CD-I, where the intellectual property is incorporated in a material medium, namely an item of goods, every on-line service is in fact an act which should be subject to authorisation where the copyright or related right so provides”.

Current case before the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) – judgement expected end of 2019

The recent Opinion of the Advocate General in the Tom Kabinet case (concerning the resale of e-books) that is currently before the CJEU confirms that the exhaustion doctrine is limited only to tangible, physical supports and has no application whatsoever to digital downloads (which are covered by the communication to the public right and not by the distribution right).

The Opinion concludes that:

“Article 3(1) and Article 4 of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society must be interpreted as meaning that the supply of e-books by downloading online for permanent use is not covered by the distribution right within the meaning of Article 4 of that directive but is covered by the right of communication to the public within the meaning of Article 3(1) of that directive.”

The Government of Nepal has introduced a set of new rules relating to sharing of information about gamblers, management of assets and monitoring for suspicious activities.

As per the new rules, operators of brick-and-mortar casinos are required to maintain a record of visitors and players at the properties. Gambling venues should also deny access to those who are believed to be involved in suspicious activities.

The new rules mandate that the casinos must inform the government and the Nepal Rastra Bank about wins or losses of more than NPR1 million within a 15-day period. If the gambling venues suspect that a patron uses suspicious money, it has to compile a report and notify the NRB’s Financial Information Unit within a three-day period.

Under the recently adopted rules, operators of gambling venues must submit reports to the Department of Tourism in every four months. The reports must contain information proving that the casinos are not used for money laundering. Properties failing to submit the required reports could face fines of up to NPR50 million.

The newly imposed rules also contain provisions relating to sharing information about customers, casino operators and staff members. If casinos change staff, they must inform the authorities about the changes within a 15-day period.

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned the adverts from BetIndex and Coral for being socially irresponsible and encouraging potentially harmful behaviour.

A BetIndex video on YouTube featured a representative of The Football Index product describing it as “basically the football stock market, where you buy and sell shares in footballers with real money and you can win daily pay-outs which we call dividends.” A viewer of the video complained that it was irresponsible because it was presented as an investment opportunity.

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad created the impression that the product was an investment opportunity when, in fact, it was a betting product. It concluded that the ad did not make the associated financial risks clear and was irresponsible.

Separately, a television ad for Coral has been banned for encouraging repetitive participation in gambling. The ad featured a female voiceover stating: “Free £5 bet every Sunday. When you bet £25+ Monday to Saturday.” A viewer complained that the offer was irresponsible and potentially harmful for encouraging consumers to gamble each week.

“We considered that the suggestion that viewers should ‘join’ a ‘club’ in order to receive a free £5 bet ‘every’ Sunday was likely to encourage some consumers to take up the offer repetitively. For that reason, we concluded that the ad was likely to encourage gambling behaviour that was harmful and therefore breached the Code,” upholding the complaint, the ASA said.