The exhaustion game

: videogames and the doctrine of exhaustion on European Union's copyright law

Abstract

The debate over applying the doctrine of exhaustion to digital products protected by copyright is extensive and leads back to debates on international and national legislation. In the European Union, the legislation regarding exhaustion is limited to goods in tangible media, with no reference to digital exhaustion. Scholars and courts have discussed this subject over the years. Today, there is a tendency to judicialise the discussion on digital exhaustion in an attempt to obtain answers to its application in new technologies. The present thesis analyses the doctrine of exhaustion in light of the European Union's copyright legislation, as well as the decisions of the CJEU and national courts on the subject, especially regarding the videogame industry. The primary objective of the analysis is to show how the debate on the extension of the exhaustion doctrine to digital goods has influenced a change in the business model of the videogame industry and, consequently, in the form videogames are commercialised.

Date of Award	8 Nov 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Tito Rendas (Supervisor)