Glossary

CLUF

EULA, End User License Agreement

The contract governing your right to use a game. It specifies that the product is licensed to you, not sold. Often based on a master agreement common to several products, sometimes supplemented by conditions specific to a game or a platform. It is accepted with a click, or simply by playing. See "What is a CLUF?".

CGU

General Terms of Use

The rules set by a platform (store, online service) for the use of its services. Like the CLUF, they may constitute all or part of the contract applicable to the service. They remain subject to mandatory rules, which prevail over conflicting clauses.

License (Usage)

A right of use granted under conditions, not a transfer of ownership over the work. For a physical copy, this license coexists with your ownership of the medium (which you can resell); for digital, it is essentially what you acquire, within the limits set by the contract. A contractual license is not a mere favor: when acquired for consideration, its modification and termination remain governed by contract and consumer law.

Exhaustion of Rights

Rule whereby, once a copy has been sold in the EU with the rights holder's consent, the rights holder can no longer oppose its resale. It allows the resale of physical copies; French courts have ruled it out for digital games (Cass., 23 Oct. 2024).

Unfair Term

A clause in a contract creating a "significant imbalance" to the detriment of the consumer. It is deemed unwritten, without effect, even if you accepted it (Directive 93/13/EEC; art. L.212-1 of the French Consumer Code).

Right of Withdrawal

The right to cancel an online purchase within 14 days. For digital content supplied immediately, it can be neutralized if you expressly waive it, hence the importance of clear consent (Directive 2011/83/EU).

Intellectual Property (IP)

The set of exclusive rights over creative works; for a game, essentially copyright and related rights, plus the trademark. It belongs to the rights holder (often the publisher), not necessarily to the creators.

Usus, Fructus, Abusus

The three attributes of full ownership in civil law: usus (use), fructus (derive benefit from) and abusus (dispose of: sell, give away, destroy). A game license grants, at best, only a limited usus.

Directive vs Regulation (EU)

Two types of European legal texts. A regulation is directly applicable in all Member States (e.g. the DSA, the RGPD). A directive sets an objective that each State must transpose into its national law (e.g. Directives 2019/770 or 93/13).

Directive (EU) 2019/770

European text on the supply, conformity, remedies and certain functional modifications of digital content and services. It should not be used as the sole basis for any rewriting of a CLUF. Transposed in France into the Consumer Code (art. L.224-25-1 et seq.).

DSA

Digital Services Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065

Regulation governing online platforms and intermediaries: transparency of terms (art. 14), prohibition of deceptive interfaces, action against illegal content. It applies to providers of intermediary services: not all game publishers are subject to it for their CLUF, and it governs neither ownership nor resale of games. See our analysis of the DSA.

DMA

Digital Markets Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/1925

Regulation targeting "gatekeepers" (large platforms), notably to open up closed ecosystems (alternative stores, interoperability).

DFA

Digital Fairness Act

Future European text: public consultation closed on 24 October 2025, legislative proposal announced for the fourth quarter of 2026, final content not yet settled at this stage. It is meant to tackle dark patterns, addictive designs, subscription traps and unfair digital contracts. Potentially the best lever for players' rights; resale and preservation are not included at this stage, and getting them included is a demand we are advocating for.

RGPD

General Data Protection Regulation, (EU) 2016/679

Governs the processing of personal data: valid legal basis, clear information, minimization, rights of access, rectification and erasure. When the publisher relies on consent, it must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous.

DRM / MTP

Technical Protection Measures

Technical locks limiting the copying, installation or use of a game (activation, mandatory connection...). Under French law, they must not obstruct certain exceptions, such as legal deposit.

Legal Deposit

An obligation, in France since 1537 (modernized by the 1992 law), to deposit published works so they can be preserved. It covers video games, including digital ones, collected by the BnF (Heritage Code, art. L.131-1 et seq.). The limitation lies less in the principle itself than in the actual collection, the server components, and the preservation of a genuinely playable experience.

Game-as-a-Service (Live Service)

A game inseparable from a continuous online service (regular content, seasons). It lives, and dies, with its servers: when they shut down, it can become completely unplayable (e.g. The Crew, 2024).

Digital

Refers to a game distributed and acquired without a physical medium, via a digital platform. You are buying an access license, not an object.

ICE

European Citizens' Initiative

An EU tool for participatory democracy: once over one million verified signatures are reached, the Commission must respond, but is not obliged to legislate. This is the framework behind "Stop Destroying Videogames".