Digital Ownership Rights Calculator
What's Your Digital Ownership Situation?
This tool helps you understand what rights you really have when purchasing digital goods. By answering key questions about the license terms, you'll see what ownership rights you actually have.
Your Ownership Rights
Important: Digital ownership is often limited by license terms. You may not have the same rights as physical purchases.
The article explains why true digital ownership is rare, and how companies often maintain control through licensing terms.
When you buy a game on Steam, an ebook on Amazon, or a song on iTunes, do you actually own it? Most people think yes. The truth? You don’t. You’re just borrowing it under a contract you never read.
This isn’t a trick. It’s the new normal. Every time you click "Buy Now" on a digital product, you’re agreeing to a license - not a sale. That means the company can take it away. Delete your account? Gone. Change the terms? Gone. Shut down the server? Gone. And there’s nothing you can do about it.
Unlike a physical CD or book, digital goods don’t come with the same rights. You can’t resell them. You can’t lend them to a friend. You can’t pass them down to your kids. And if the platform decides you’ve broken a rule - even accidentally - they can lock you out permanently.
Why Digital Ownership Doesn’t Exist (Yet)
Back in the 1990s, software companies like Autodesk stopped selling programs and started licensing them. Why? Control. By calling it a "license," they avoided the legal rules that apply to physical goods - like the first sale doctrine, which lets you resell a used book or DVD. Courts backed them up. In Vernor v. Autodesk (2010), a judge ruled that if a license says you can’t resell software, then you can’t. It didn’t matter that the user paid full price. The contract overruled ownership.
Today, that same logic applies to everything digital. Steam’s terms say you get a "limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, personal license" to your games. That’s legal jargon for: "You’re not the owner. We are. And we can revoke this anytime."
Even NFTs - often sold as "proof of ownership" - aren’t always what they seem. Many NFTs only give you a digital image and a blockchain record. They don’t automatically grant copyright, commercial rights, or even the right to display the image outside the platform. Some projects, like Bored Ape Yacht Club, do grant commercial rights. Most don’t. And unless you read the fine print, you won’t know the difference.
California’s Law That Changed Everything
Until January 1, 2024, companies could hide the truth behind vague terms. California’s AB 2426 changed that. It’s the first U.S. law that forces platforms to clearly tell you: "This is a license, not ownership."
The law requires three things:
- A clear statement - in plain language - before you pay.
- Visual contrast - the notice can’t be hidden in tiny gray text.
- A link or QR code to the full license terms.
Steam updated its store in February 2024 to add a "License Notice" banner right above the Buy button. Amazon now shows similar warnings on ebook pages. Apple added disclosures to its App Store. These aren’t optional. They’re legally required.
But here’s the problem: most people still don’t read them. A 2023 Morgan Lewis survey found 78% of users thought they owned their digital purchases. Only 12% understood they were just licensed users.
What You Can and Can’t Do With Digital Goods
Here’s what real ownership looks like - and what digital licensing takes away:
| Right | Physical Good (e.g., Book, CD) | Digital Good (e.g., Ebook, Game) |
|---|---|---|
| Own it outright | Yes | No - you’re licensed |
| Resell it | Yes (first sale doctrine) | No - blocked by license terms |
| Lend it to a friend | Yes | No - usually restricted by DRM |
| Bequeath it in a will | Yes | No - most platforms prohibit transfer |
| Modify or repair it | Yes | No - DRM locks access |
| Access after platform shutdown | Yes | No - server-dependent |
Amazon deleted 12 million users’ purchased ebooks in 2022 when its Cloud Drive service shut down. EA removed 15 classic games from Origin after changing licensing terms. Users who "bought" them in 1995 lost access overnight. No refunds. No appeals.
Blockchain and the Promise of Real Ownership
Blockchain technology offers a different path. Instead of relying on a company’s server, ownership is recorded on a public ledger. Ethereum Name Service (ENS) lets users buy .eth domains that are permanently theirs - no annual renewal, no corporate control. If you own the private key, you own the domain.
Some NFT projects are starting to use smart contracts to encode real rights: the right to display, the right to sell, even the right to earn royalties from future sales. Unlike traditional licenses, these rules can’t be changed by a company. They’re enforced by code.
But blockchain isn’t magic. Many NFTs still don’t grant copyright. Many platforms still require you to use their app to view your "ownership." And courts haven’t ruled on whether blockchain ownership overrides a platform’s terms. It’s promising - but still untested.
Why Companies Love Licensing
For businesses, licensing is a dream. They can:
- Update software remotely without user approval
- Block users who complain or protest
- Stop competitors from reselling their content
- Collect recurring revenue through subscriptions
- Control how their content is used - even after sale
The numbers back it up. The global digital content market hit $1.12 trillion in 2024. 92% of those sales were licenses, not ownership transfers. Gaming alone made $227 billion - almost all under license terms.
Companies argue they need this control to protect creators. Independent musicians and indie devs say licensing platforms help them earn more than open distribution. But that doesn’t explain why users can’t resell a game they paid $70 for - or why their entire library vanishes if they get banned for a forum post.
What’s Next? The Fight for Digital Rights
Consumer pressure is building. The FTC received over 12,000 digital ownership complaints in 2023 - up 214% since 2020. The Electronic Frontier Foundation sued Apple in November 2024, claiming App Store licensing rules are anti-competitive.
The U.S. Copyright Office is now reviewing whether digital first sale rights should be allowed - something it dismissed as "impractical" in 2001. Meanwhile, the European Union’s new Digital Markets law demands that digital goods have "equivalent rights" to physical ones. That could force platforms to let you resell your games.
And consumers? They’re starting to vote with their wallets. A Morgan Lewis white paper found 68% of users would pay 15-22% more for true digital ownership. If platforms don’t adapt, they’ll lose trust - and sales.
What You Should Do Today
You can’t change the system overnight. But you can protect yourself:
- Read the license before you buy. Look for keywords: "non-transferable," "revocable," "limited license." If you can’t find it, don’t buy.
- Ask: Can I resell this? Can I give it to someone else? Can I keep it forever? If the answer is no, you’re not owning - you’re renting.
- Prefer blockchain-based assets where you control the private key. ENS domains, Bitcoin, and some NFTs offer real ownership - if you manage your keys safely.
- Back up what you can. If you bought a game, save your save files. If you bought music, rip it to MP3. If you bought an ebook, convert it to PDF. Don’t rely on cloud storage.
- Support laws like AB 2426. Demand transparency. If a platform hides the truth, don’t give them your money.
Digital ownership isn’t dead. It’s just being rewritten. And right now, the companies hold the pen. But if enough people demand change - and pay for real ownership - the rules will have to change too.
