Sony lawyers argued in an August 21 filing in California’s Northern District that reasonable consumers do not believe they own their digital games, responding to a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging the publisher violates state digital store laws, according to a Game File report cited by Yahoo. The legal filing centers on whether Sony’s current customer disclosures meet California requirements for clear warnings that digital purchases are software licenses rather than owned property.
Sony Digital Ownership Arguments in Court
The proposed class-action lawsuit claims Sony fails to clearly explain that customers purchase licenses rather than actual products when buying digital goods, violating a California law requiring explicit warnings about digital purchases. According to Yahoo, Sony’s legal team countered that terms of service and software product licensing agreements clearly establish that users do not own the product. The filing states that in the digital age, consumers understand they are not obtaining permanent ownership of a digital game.
To illustrate the point, Sony’s lawyers argued that if digital games were truly owned outright by buyers, secondary transactions and sequential digital purchases would be legally impossible. According to the court documents cited by Yahoo, the filing noted that a customer named Edward Heycock purchased Resident Evil Requiem on February 25, 2026, after another user named Jason Mendoza bought the same title on February 14, 2026, pointing out that Mendoza could not have bought it if Sony did not retain ownership rights.
Arbitration Clauses and Customer Notifications
Sony’s terms of service also bar users from participating in class-action lawsuits against the company, requiring private arbitration instead. According to Yahoo, the recent legal arguments form part of Sony’s broader effort to force the dispute into private arbitration rather than allowing it to proceed as a class action before a judge. Shortly after filing the motion, PlayStation sent email reminders to customers reiterating that they do not own digital content purchased through the storefront, reinforcing the company’s official stance amid growing industry debate over digital rights and preservation.
