If buying isn’t owning, then pirating isn’t stealing. Because you don’t own it if you bought it.

Honestly, the best option for this while preserving digital media, is outlawing licenses that can expire for goods that are purchased.

Make all licenses legally required to be maintained for existing purchases, but disallow future purchases under the license.

it would get rid of this “we are removing this due to license agreements” reasoning that keeps being used to shut down existing products and services that people paid money for.

Do this and then allude to the next PlayStation being nothing but a streaming service really good and cool.

This is tragic and evil and another good reason to talk about intellectual property rights and ownership, but I am smirking a bit reading this article, as I can’t shake the feeling that Arnold Schwarzenegger paid for it. Two screenshots from Judgement Day, and a title card for the movie at the bottom of this article 🤭?

Edit: bemusement about the Governator aside, I think this should be really straight forward to regulate. I remember the EU passing regulation a few years back that it only counts as a purchase online when you have to click something that clearly says “Purchase” or “pay now” and not, for example, click a nondescript link or “continue” button. IANAL but I could see similar regulation saying “if it’s called ‘buy’ or another term that implies permanent ownership, it must be permanent and can’t be revoked. Otherwise, the company must call it ‘rent’ or sth along those lines”.