Sony has argued in a US court filing that “reasonable consumers” understand they are only purchasing a licence rather than owning digital games outright.
The claim, made as part of a motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit, comes as PlayStation users in the UK and globally face the practical reality of losing access to digital content they previously “purchased”.
The legal dispute, Heycock v. Sony Corporation of America, was filed in June 2026 in the Northern District of California. It challenges the discrepancy between Sony’s marketing language—which uses terms like “buy” and “purchase”—and the restrictive terms found in the company’s Software Product Licence Agreement (SPLA). Sony’s legal team argued on 21 August 2026 that customers should already be aware that digital software is “licensed, not sold,” a distinction found in Section 1 of its user agreement.
A court hearing regarding Sony’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit is scheduled for 1 October 2026.
The legal argument coincides with a significant loss of content for UK users. On 1 September 2026, Sony removed 551 StudioCanal films and television series from UK PlayStation libraries following the expiry of licensing agreements. This meant that even users who had paid to “buy” these titles found them permanently deleted from their digital collections without a refund.
Sony has provided an official list of the affected StudioCanal titles here for users to check their own libraries.
The shift towards a purely digital model is expected to accelerate, with Sony reportedly planning to phase out the production of physical game discs for new releases starting in 2028. This move would leave the PlayStation Store as the primary source for software, governed entirely by the licensing model currently under fire.
The “Right to Buy” vs Licensing Laws
The lawsuit relies heavily on recent legislative changes in California. Assembly Bill 2426, which came into effect on 1 January 2025, prohibits digital storefronts from using terms such as “buy” or “purchase” unless they clearly disclose that the user is only receiving a revocable licence.
In the UK, while the Consumer Rights Act 2015 covers digital content, the law primarily focuses on the quality and description of the software rather than the permanence of property ownership. This has left a grey area for UK gamers who may feel misled by the “Buy” button on the PlayStation Store.
Consumer advocates have long pointed to the contradiction in Sony’s own digital ecosystem. While legal filings maintain that users “understand” the licensing model, the company has faced criticism over its storefront terminology.
As the 1 October 2026 hearing approaches, the outcome could set a precedent for how digital products are marketed globally. If the court rules against Sony’s motion to dismiss, the company may be forced to change its storefront terminology or provide more robust guarantees for digital “purchases”.