A few months back, we told you about that little problem Valve is facing. Yup, it's gotten bigger. No, I am not talking about a consumer backlash after they allowed the dreadful heresy known as WarZ to be available on Steam (albeit they took it off quickly enough). I am talking about the German talent for enforcing the law.
The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZVB) has finally, after extending the deadlines quite a bit, decided to sue Valve over their refusal to allow users to resell their games. Carola Elbrecht, the VZVB's project manager for digital consumer rights explains that owners of digital products should be given the same rights as those that play traditional board games. With Germany having a vibrant board game culture, it's not hard to see why this particular campaign took hold in the glorious country of sausage and sauerkraut.
This lawsuit could have been seen coming from a mile. September last year, the VZVB warned Valve in a cease-and-desist order to open up the possibility for Steam users to resell their games. This warning was also a response to the updated Steam Subscriber agreement which prohibited class-action law suits against the company. Valve seems to have ignored the 'friendly' message and kept on, bolstered by a horde of consumers with more than positive feelings towards the company, going about their usual business.
A previous case between the same two parties was dismissed in 2010 by the German Federal court of Justice but Valve might not be so lucky this time around since in July last year, he European Court of Justice made it known that the trading of 'used' software licenses was henceforth legal. The VZVB is obviously putting its hopes on this ruling and have now taking the very direct action they had announced at the end of 2012.
Valve isn't the only offender in this regard. No other digital distributor gives its users the option to resell their used goods. Elbrecht commented that while she understands that this singular targeting of Valve might confuse people, it is also meant to be a signal to other companies.
It's hard to argue against the VZVB. While Valve certainly can relax on a mountain of consumer good will, it does have its flaws that we often ignore or forget. Ask those that bought Gettysburg: Armoured Warfare or the WarZ for one. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the community to this but frankly, I can't really see anyone being against the notion of reselling their games. But then again, there most certainly will be some.
