EU court rules gamers are free to resell digital games

The Court of Justice of the European Union, as reported by Eurogamer, has ruled that publishers are legally unable to stop people reselling digital games.

Said the court: "An author of software cannot oppose the resale of his 'used' licences allowing the use of his programs downloaded from the internet."

The exclusive right covering the distribution of a copy of a game is "exhausted on its first sale," said the ruling.

This means you are legally able to resell downloaded computer games, whether no matter where you bought it and no matter what EULA is associated with the retailer.

The ruling continues: "Therefore, even if the licence agreement prohibits a further transfer, the rightholder can no longer oppose the resale of that copy."

Big stuff. There's a lot of detail in the EG story.