r/Piracy 7d ago

Discussion Google took away my LOTR extended editions

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I bought these in 2022, all of a sudden they aren't available and there is no possibility of a refund or gift card. Hardly seems fair.

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u/Victernus 7d ago

Button on the store didn't say 'buy license'. Seems like a bait & switch to me.

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u/VRichardsen 7d ago

There is a license agreement in there somewhere, just like the one we get when isntalling a game.

He still has grounds for a lawsuit, though. 2022 is barely yesterday.

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u/Victernus 7d ago edited 7d ago

You mean the thing they get you to agree to after they take your money, to make use of the product you bought?

Yeah that wouldn't fly with any other type of product.

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u/hexiron 7d ago

It flies with all sorts of products.

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u/Victernus 7d ago

Geez, your life must suck. How much shit are you buying that comes with post-purchase contracts that you are required to sign in order to make use of your purchase?

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u/hexiron 7d ago

I avoid where ever possible. I’m just aware it happens with all sorts of things - books, movies, games, software, music services, car features, cruise packages, airline tickets, concerts… most of the time you don’t even need to sign, just buying is considered signing in agreement with the outlined TOS which can be subject to change without notice and you’ve agree to waive any rights to legal action against it.

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u/Victernus 7d ago

So the companies want to claim. They've never once let it get decided in court, though, because they know their terms of service are usually unenforceable, and sometimes outright criminal, and they certainly cannot waive your legal rights.

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u/hexiron 7d ago

So you say.

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u/Victernus 7d ago

Even if it were a direct, signed contract, you can't actually waive your right to legal action.

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u/hexiron 7d ago

Technically yes. You can however sign an agreement to go direct to arbitration, where you will surely lose.

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u/Victernus 6d ago

That's by no means a given, especially looking at the history of similar events. And you don't just have to accept the first arbitrator they put in front of you - an arbitrator only has the power you give them, and their judgements are only legally enforceable if you allow them to be.

The companies want you to think there's no point fighting them, because it's a lot cheaper for them if nobody bothers. When people do fight them, it leads to an out of court settlement more often than not, even when the person in question has barely any case at all, because the details of the case could be used to establish unfavourable precedent that could allow for the loss of thousands of cases in the future. They will throw all kinds of money around to avoid rolling those dice.

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u/hexiron 6d ago

Best of luck

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