Activision · Activision Terms of Use

Intellectual Property Ownership & License Restrictions

Medium severity
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What it is

Activision retains all ownership rights to their games and software — you are only granted a limited license to use the product, and you cannot copy, modify, reverse engineer, or redistribute it.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Purchasing an Activision game gives you only a limited use license, not ownership — meaning you cannot resell, transfer, or modify the software, and Activision can revoke your access under certain conditions.

Cross-platform context

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

You do not own Activision's games even after purchasing them; you only have a limited, revocable license to use them, meaning Activision can restrict or revoke your access.

View original clause language
PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING OR USING THIS SOFTWARE PROGRAM. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU MAY NOT INSTALL OR OTHERWISE ACCESS THE SOFTWARE.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: The software license grant is governed by the Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.) and the first sale doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 109), which courts have generally held does not apply to digital software licenses (Vernor v. Autodesk, 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010)). The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030) may be implicated by provisions restricting reverse engineering. EU Software Directive (2009/24/EC) Art. 6 grants users limited reverse engineering rights for interoperability that cannot be contractually waived. The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) and proposed right to repair legislation may further constrain IP restriction clauses in the EU.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has authority to investigate whether software license characterizations that mislead consumers about ownership rights constitute unfair or deceptive practices under FTC Act Section 5.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Activision Terms of Use
Entity
Activision
Document last updated
April 29, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
April 18, 2026
Last verified
April 18, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-003048
Document ID
CA-D-00307
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
d4edb61d0a7af24532701a12db125206fbc2a2c8647e07fcbb29076b77f1fc82
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Activision | Document: Activision Terms of Use | Record: CA-P-003048
Captured: 2026-04-18 12:02:12 UTC | SHA-256: d4edb61d0a7af245…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/activision/activision-terms-of-use/intellectual-property-ownership-license-restrictions/
Accessed: May 2, 2026
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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