Valve: Difference between revisions
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|''Sean Colvin'' (and various others) ''v. Valve Corporation, CD Projekt S.A., CD Projekt, Inc., Ubisoft Entertainment S.A., Ubisoft, Inc., Ubisoft L.A., Inc., kChamp Games, Inc., Rust, LLC, and Devolver Digital, Inc.''<ref>https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/popular-gaming-platform-accused-of-abusing-market-power-through-contracts-4124057/</ref> | |''Sean Colvin'' (and various others) ''v. Valve Corporation, CD Projekt S.A., CD Projekt, Inc., Ubisoft Entertainment S.A., Ubisoft, Inc., Ubisoft L.A., Inc., kChamp Games, Inc., Rust, LLC, and Devolver Digital, Inc.''<ref>https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/popular-gaming-platform-accused-of-abusing-market-power-through-contracts-4124057/</ref> | ||
| | |2021 - Unfinised | ||
|Five individuals in California sued Valve (among various other publishers) over participating in anti-competitive behavior with the Steam platform, most notably over the sale of games for lesser prices on other platforms. | |Five individuals in California sued Valve (among various other publishers) over participating in anti-competitive behavior with the Steam platform, most notably over the sale of games for lesser prices on other platforms. | ||
|Not concluded because of indefinite postponement by Valve. | |Not concluded because of indefinite postponement by Valve. | ||
|<!-- Highly recommend an anti-competitive behavior article here --> | |<!-- Highly recommend an anti-competitive behavior article here --> | ||
|- | |- | ||
|''Bucher Law PLCC v. Valve Corp.''<ref>https://www.bucherlawfirm.com/valve <!-- Not exactly an ideal link, I know, but it is the first one I can find when looking it up --></ref><ref>https://lawgud.com/lawsuit/bucher-law-steam-lawsuit/</ref><!-- I am actually one of the users in this court case arbitrating against Valve, so I can help out here with updates on the case should there be the need for a dedicated article of this specific case - James --> | |''Bucher Law PLCC v. Valve Corp.''<ref>https://www.bucherlawfirm.com/valve <!-- Not exactly an ideal link, I know, but it is the first one I can find when looking it up --></ref><ref>https://lawgud.com/lawsuit/bucher-law-steam-lawsuit/</ref><ref>https://www.bucherlawfirm.com/_files/ugd/38f6ef_69ae2fee5c5548538d526669d99be533.pdf</ref><!-- I am actually one of the users in this court case arbitrating against Valve, so I can help out here with updates on the case should there be the need for a dedicated article of this specific case - James --> | ||
| | |C.A. 2021 - Unfinished<!-- Kind reminder that I do not remember when my case was moved over from Zaiger to Bucher, otherwise I would have listed the exact year. | ||
Update: March 1st, 2025: According to the legal documents I am able to obtain, and have linked, it started roughly in 2021. --> | |||
|A companion to previous lawsuits against Valve over their anti-competitive monopoly, this time covering consumers over their purchase of games on Steam. | |A companion to previous lawsuits against Valve over their anti-competitive monopoly, this time covering consumers over their purchase of games on Steam. | ||
|Not concluded, slowly being arbitrated. | |Not concluded, slowly being arbitrated. | ||
| | | | ||
|} | |} | ||
== Anti-Consumer Practices == | |||
=== Steam users do not own their games (2024) === | |||
[To be worked on] Sources: <ref>https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/steams-new-disclaimer-reminds-everyone-that-you-dont-actually-own-your-games-gog-moves-in-for-the-killshot-its-offline-installers-cannot-be-taken-away-from-you/</ref><ref>https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267864/steam-buy-purchase-license-digital-storefront</ref><!-- Hi SKG people I linked this to, feel free to develop this section! --> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 12:46, 1 March 2025
Valve Corporation
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Digital distribution, software development, hardware engineering |
| Official website | https://valvesoftware.com/ |
Valve Corporation, also known as Valve Software, was founded in 1996 by Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington. It is the owner of the popular digital software distribution service Steam. Valve additionally develops tools frequently used by various professional and amateur creators, such as Source Filmmaker and the Source Engines.
Legal disputes
Steam's predominance has led to Valve becoming involved in various legal cases.[1]
| Dispute Title | Year started and ended
(if concluded) |
Background Information | Aftermath | Related Articles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCC v. Valve Corporation[2] | 2014–2016 | During this lawsuit, Valve was found by the Australian Federal Court to have refused to offer refunds for faulty or broken products. | Users now have the ability to easily refund games they purchased, so long as they follow the refund policy. | |
| UFC Que Choisir v. Valve Corporation[3] | 2015–2019
(still disputed) |
UFC Que Choisir sued Valve on the grounds that users deserved to resell their digital licenses. | Users in France had the right to resell their digital Steam library, overturned in October 2024. | |
| McLeod v. Valve Corp.[4] | 2016 | MacLeod started the first antitrust case against Valve Corp. over the sale of their games. | Absorbed into another legal dispute; continues to be dismissed within Seattle courts. | |
| Wolfire Games v. Valve Corp.[5] | 2021–2022 | The first notable antitrust case against Valve's unfair market manipulation of their games. | Absorbed into another dispute/now a class action lawsuit[6] | |
| Sean Colvin (and various others) v. Valve Corporation, CD Projekt S.A., CD Projekt, Inc., Ubisoft Entertainment S.A., Ubisoft, Inc., Ubisoft L.A., Inc., kChamp Games, Inc., Rust, LLC, and Devolver Digital, Inc.[7] | 2021 - Unfinised | Five individuals in California sued Valve (among various other publishers) over participating in anti-competitive behavior with the Steam platform, most notably over the sale of games for lesser prices on other platforms. | Not concluded because of indefinite postponement by Valve. | |
| Bucher Law PLCC v. Valve Corp.[8][9][10] | C.A. 2021 - Unfinished | A companion to previous lawsuits against Valve over their anti-competitive monopoly, this time covering consumers over their purchase of games on Steam. | Not concluded, slowly being arbitrated. |
Anti-Consumer Practices
Steam users do not own their games (2024)
[To be worked on] Sources: [11][12]
References
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(service)#Legal_disputes
- ↑ https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/federal-court-finds-valve-made-misleading-representations-about-consumer-guarantees
- ↑ https://www.foxmandal.in/tough-times-ahead-for-digital-video-game-resellers-french-supreme-court-ruling-in-ufc-que-choisir-v-valve/
- ↑ https://casetext.com/case/mcleod-v-valve-corp
- ↑ https://casetext.com/case/wolfire-games-llc-v-valve-corp-7
- ↑ https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/the-antitrust-lawsuit-against-steam-is-now-a-class-action-and-that-could-have-big-repercussions-for-valve/
- ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/popular-gaming-platform-accused-of-abusing-market-power-through-contracts-4124057/
- ↑ https://www.bucherlawfirm.com/valve
- ↑ https://lawgud.com/lawsuit/bucher-law-steam-lawsuit/
- ↑ https://www.bucherlawfirm.com/_files/ugd/38f6ef_69ae2fee5c5548538d526669d99be533.pdf
- ↑ https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/steams-new-disclaimer-reminds-everyone-that-you-dont-actually-own-your-games-gog-moves-in-for-the-killshot-its-offline-installers-cannot-be-taken-away-from-you/
- ↑ https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267864/steam-buy-purchase-license-digital-storefront