EU lawmaker: If purchase isn't ownership, piracy isn't theft

🔑 Enhanced Key Takeaways

• •Markéta Gregorová, a Czech Pirate Party MEP within the Greens/European Free Alliance group since 2019, has been a vocal proponent of digital rights, actively participating in the European Parliament's debate on the 'Stop Destroying Videogames' initiative on May 21, 2026.
• •The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative, founded by Ross Scott in April 2024 following Ubisoft's shutdown of 'The Crew', successfully gathered over 1.2 million signatures for its European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) 'Stop Destroying Videogames', which was formally submitted to the European Commission in January 2026 and presented at a public hearing in the European Parliament in April 2026.
• •A key legal precedent in the EU is the 2012 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which affirmed the legality of reselling digital software licenses, asserting that the distribution rights of a producer are exhausted upon the first sale, irrespective of whether the software is physical or digital, thereby challenging restrictive End User License Agreements (EULAs).
• •The European Commission is actively reviewing EU copyright rules and consumer protection laws through a 'digital fairness' fitness check, which specifically addresses gaming-related concerns such as loot boxes, in-game purchases, and potentially addictive digital products, with a new legislative proposal like the Digital Fairness Act (DFA) anticipated in late 2026.
• •The broader debate on digital ownership in the EU extends to general digital data, where, in most jurisdictions, data is not subject to traditional ownership rights independently of its storage medium; however, proposed EU laws like the Data Act aim to grant users enhanced access and control over data generated by their devices, potentially establishing rights akin to ownership.

🔮 Future ImplicationsAI analysis grounded in cited sources

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