unable to gift a licence of a game u already own!?

[Hell Scream]

Now i know that there are only some games which, if you buy them in a pack and you already own some of the games, you can then gift the extra license off to a friend, and these games in particular are the ones which steam controls. So i assume that it is the publishers putting these restrictions in place, but, my question is this:

If i already own a license to a game in a pack, and i Buy a pack which includes this game, have i not just payed for another license?

isnt that like buying 2 boxes in a store and being able to give it to a mate...? its urs, u do what you want with it!?

i was wondering what the legal side of this is?

[Dalienx]

perfectly legal to give away a spare copy/licence to a mate.
its only illegal if you try to sell it.

[Thermal Ions]

Dx, I think Hell Scream is asking whether its legal for Valve to sell you a pack of games that includes "effectively" a second licence for a game you already own, but then not in effect give you the benefit of the second copy, by enabling you to pass it onto a third party.

Hell Scream, while that seems a reasonable question, you'd likely find that the Steam terms under which you purchase the pack only grant you a subscription to access the included games you have linked to your Steam account, not a licence equavilent to a boxed product licence that you physically (if not technically under the licence) can pass onto someone else.

Thankfully some publishers are suitably customer focussed to allow gifting "additional" subscriptions/licences, but it's not the default under which you purchase through Steam.

You'd be hardpressed to get anyone (consumer protection / legal types) much interested in testing it legally.

[Reoh]

Oh I see now.

I know that sometimes when that happens you get an extra discount on the sale price already deducted when it lists for your account. But that is only "sometimes" and not always.

[Hell Scream]

Originally Posted by Thermal Ions

Dx, I think Hell Scream is asking whether its legal for Valve to sell you a pack of games that includes "effectively" a second licence for a game you already own, but then not in effect give you the benefit of the second copy, by enabling you to pass it onto a third party.

Hell Scream, while that seems a reasonable question, you'd likely find that the Steam terms under which you purchase the pack only grant you a subscription to access the included games you have linked to your Steam account, not a licence equavilent to a boxed product licence that you physically (if not technically under the licence) can pass onto someone else.

Thankfully some publishers are suitably customer focussed to allow gifting "additional" subscriptions/licences, but it's not the default under which you purchase through Steam.

You'd be hardpressed to get anyone (consumer protection / legal types) much interested in testing it legally.

ah yeh i see what ur saying a "subscription" not a "license". There's always a catch huh....

[Chief]

When you buy a pack there's a message at checkout saying whether or not you will receive extra giftable copies of the games you already own but in 99% of cases you don't.