Digital goods

[1] Examples are Wikipedia articles; digital media, such as e-books, downloadable music, internet radio, internet television and streaming media; fonts, logos, photos and graphics; digital subscriptions; online ads (as purchased by the advertiser); internet coupons; electronic tickets; electronically treated documentation in many different fields; downloadable software (Digital Distribution) and mobile apps; cloud-based applications and online games; virtual goods used within the virtual economies of online games and communities; community access;[2] workbooks; worksheets; planners; e-learning (online courses); webinars, video tutorials, blog posts; cards; patterns; website themes and templates.

[3] Therefore, it is not clear if the software can be legally used after a hypothetical loss of the account; a question which was also raised before in practice for the similar service Steam.

[4] In July 2012, the European Court of Justice ruled in the case UsedSoft GMbH v. Oracle International Corp. that the sale of a software product, either through a physical support or download, constituted a transfer of ownership in EU law, thus the first sale doctrine applies; the ruling thereby breaks the "licensed, not sold" legal theory, but leaves open numerous questions.

[9][10] In several cases, content providers have faced criticism for revoking access to digital goods due to expired licenses or the discontinuation of a product, such as ebooks (which resulted in a lawsuit against Amazon.com, Inc.),[11] digital video (with Sony Interactive Entertainment revoking access to purchased StudioCanal content from its now-defunct PlayStation video store; a similar move involving Warner Bros.

Discovery content was averted by an updated license agreement),[12][13] and video games (such as Ubisoft discontinuing and revoking access to its game The Crew without providing refunds or the ability to redownload the game)[14] In September 2024, the U.S. state of California implemented a consumer protection law that prohibits the use of terms such as "buy" or "purchase" during transactions involving digital goods if there is no way to obtain the purchases in a manner that cannot be revoked by the seller (such as allowing it to be downloaded for permanent, offline access), and requires a disclaimer to be displayed to the customer at the time of purchase.