New Liscense Agreement?

[lillxwin]

So I'm having a little trouble with reading this new agreement. In Part 2 section G it mentions that the content I subscribe to can't be modified, and doing so would break the new terms. I have games like Monster Girl Club Bifrost and Amairo Chocolate on my account, naturally this was before I discovered that Steam cuts content from its games that isn't appropriate. That in mind, I've downloaded the patches that give me this content back.

Is activating the game while the patches are in the files (even Amairo Chocolate, which was a patch made by the developer itself) breaking this agreement and therefore giving Valve the right to terminate my account??

Secondly, in Part 1 section D it says that getting an order confirmation in your email means that Steam has merely seen that you placed an order, but it not a confirmation that you've subbed to the product. So, when EA did that whole account deleting thing I got nervous, and started to think about if for some reason I lost my account I thought it would be best to download copies of all my reciepts from all the games I purchased (actual reciepts NOT confirmation emails) so even with the reciepts, would I not be able to restore my library if something were to happen??

[Hi Im Swat]

You're better off contacting Steam directly regarding legal policies. Nobody in the community forums can give you an official answer. The only answers people from the community can provide you are assumptions and guesses. These may or may not be correct.

Please reach out to Steam for official answers.

https://help.steampowered.com/en/

[Ettanin]

Regarding 2 G: I don't think this SSA clause forbids modding. It just outlaws getting around DRM and outlaws piracy. It should be fine if such modification is done entirely for personal purposes. Besides, any game developer can include overriding rules for their own applications.
If the developer is providing such a patch as you mentioned, you shouldn't be in violation of the SSA.
This clause should only cover Steam, the store, the Steam Community and the Steam Networking API and the Steam CDNs.

Regarding 1 D: EA accounts are outside of Valve's jurisdiction. However, the receipts are evidence that you purchased licenses of EA's games which EA, through the deletion of your account, falsely no longer honors. Whether they can be used as evidence for account restoration or not, is for EA and any other third party to decide.

[lillxwin]

Oh I wasn't talking about EA specifically, perhaps I should've made it clear that it was just an example. All games I was talking about were games provided by steam itself, and should my steam account be compromised in any way, if showing the receipt that I did indeed purchase those games, would I be able to get them again on a new account (not with the same access code of course, since steam only does one access code) but, realistically corporations are made to make money, so I'm sure even with proof of purchase I wouldn't be given such grace and just have to buy all my games all over again ^^;

[Ettanin]

引用自 lillxwin：

Oh I wasn't talking about EA specifically, perhaps I should've made it clear that it was just an example. All games I was talking about were games provided by steam itself, and should my steam account be compromised in any way, if showing the receipt that I did indeed purchase those games, would I be able to get them again on a new account (not with the same access code of course, since steam only does one access code) but, realistically corporations are made to make money, so I'm sure even with proof of purchase I wouldn't be given such grace and just have to buy all my games all over again ^^;

If your account gets compromised and the account theft involves third party stores such as EA, Ubisoft, PSN, etc., you will have to deal with that separately. Steam will not grant replacement licenses on their own.

[Nx Machina]

引用自 lillxwin：

So I'm having a little trouble with reading this new agreement. In Part 2 section G it mentions that the content I subscribe to can't be modified, and doing so would break the new terms. I have games like Monster Girl Club Bifrost and Amairo Chocolate on my account, naturally this was before I discovered that Steam cuts content from its games that isn't appropriate. That in mind, I've downloaded the patches that give me this content back.

Is activating the game while the patches are in the files (even Amairo Chocolate, which was a patch made by the developer itself) breaking this agreement and therefore giving Valve the right to terminate my account??

Secondly, in Part 1 section D it says that getting an order confirmation in your email means that Steam has merely seen that you placed an order, but it not a confirmation that you've subbed to the product. So, when EA did that whole account deleting thing I got nervous, and started to think about if for some reason I lost my account I thought it would be best to download copies of all my reciepts from all the games I purchased (actual reciepts NOT confirmation emails) so even with the reciepts, would I not be able to restore my library if something were to happen??

'Can't be modified" is not new. It was there in the previous version of the SSA.

Secondly Valve do not cut content from 3rd party games. They contact the developer and tell them that a certain part or parts of the content is not appropriate to put on the store. The developer then decides to either cut the content or not. If they do not the game cannot be put on Steam.

As for mods whether developer or 3rd party created, Valve do not stop games being modded. They simply do not allow mods to re-enable cut content by the developer or a 3rd party to be downloaded from Steam.

[Ettanin]

引用自 Nx Machina：

As for mods whether developer or 3rd party created, Valve do not stop games being modded. They simply do not allow mods to re-enable cut content by the developer or a 3rd party to be downloaded from Steam.

It's still unlikely that there are legal repercussions for the mere consumer. Valve does not hound down such modifications strictly.

[Nx Machina]

引用自 lillxwin：

Oh I wasn't talking about EA specifically, perhaps I should've made it clear that it was just an example. All games I was talking about were games provided by steam itself, and should my steam account be compromised in any way, if showing the receipt that I did indeed purchase those games, would I be able to get them again on a new account (not with the same access code of course, since steam only does one access code) but, realistically corporations are made to make money, so I'm sure even with proof of purchase I wouldn't be given such grace and just have to buy all my games all over again ^^;

Licences can only get activated once on an account therefore proof of purchase is irrelevant to a new account.

Write down a list of all the games you have for future reference so if your account gets compromised you can restore the games if the hijacker removes them, as the licence is not removed it is simply deactivated.

https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithGame

Use the search bar on a per game basis game and use the restore feature.

[rawWwRrr]

引用自 lillxwin：

So I'm having a little trouble with reading this new agreement. In Part 2 section G it mentions that the content I subscribe to can't be modified, and doing so would break the new terms. I have games like Monster Girl Club Bifrost and Amairo Chocolate on my account, naturally this was before I discovered that Steam cuts content from its games that isn't appropriate. That in mind, I've downloaded the patches that give me this content back.

Is activating the game while the patches are in the files (even Amairo Chocolate, which was a patch made by the developer itself) breaking this agreement and therefore giving Valve the right to terminate my account??

That section has been in place for a while now and is not part of the recent changes.

A lot of 2G is boiler plate you find for many services and online/digital products and is more for those who would make changes or modifications for profit or harm. An end user finding a way to reverse engineer and poke around at the insides of a game isn't a concern.

But if you do that with intent to make a profit from stealing that code for yourself to sell in a different game, or make changes to the code to obtain an unfair advantage in an online game, or use that knowledge to spy/hack/steal information from other users, then they have the wording in the SSA to legally reference when they disable your account.

That just covers Steam. Game devs all have their own opinion about mods. Some have not taken kindly to them and those you'd have to take up with that game's devs.

引用自 lillxwin：

Secondly, in Part 1 section D it says that getting an order confirmation in your email means that Steam has merely seen that you placed an order, but it not a confirmation that you've subbed to the product. So, when EA did that whole account deleting thing I got nervous, and started to think about if for some reason I lost my account I thought it would be best to download copies of all my reciepts from all the games I purchased (actual reciepts NOT confirmation emails) so even with the reciepts, would I not be able to restore my library if something were to happen??

引用自 lillxwin：

Oh I wasn't talking about EA specifically, perhaps I should've made it clear that it was just an example. All games I was talking about were games provided by steam itself, and should my steam account be compromised in any way, if showing the receipt that I did indeed purchase those games, would I be able to get them again on a new account (not with the same access code of course, since steam only does one access code) but, realistically corporations are made to make money, so I'm sure even with proof of purchase I wouldn't be given such grace and just have to buy all my games all over again ^^;

The SSA would be enforced on the account, not the person, so technically in your scenario you could create a new account to start over but licenses are not transferable between accounts. So even with receipts in hand, they all refer to the account in which the game was licensed, not you as a person. You would have to rebuy the game to the new account.

But this has been in place for several years now as well.

The only recent changes that Valve made was removing the forced arbitration and allowing for class action status to resolving disputes between you and Valve.

[rawWwRrr]

11. DISPUTE RESOLUTION/BINDING ARBITRATION/CLASS ACTION WAIVER ⏶

This Section 11 shall apply to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. IN PARTICULAR, IF YOU ARE A CONSUMER WHO LIVES IN A EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER COUNTRY, THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC (CANADA), AUSTRALIA, OR NEW ZEALAND, THIS SECTION 11 DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU. IF YOU ARE A CONSUMER WHO LIVES IN RUSSIA,YOU MAY UTILIZE THE ARBITRATION PROCESS IDENTIFIED IN THIS SECTION 11 OR YOU MAY USE LOCAL RUSSIAN STATE COURTS TO RESOLVE YOUR DISPUTE.

Most user concerns can be resolved by use of our Steam support site at https://support.steampowered.com/. If Valve is unable to resolve your concerns and a dispute remains between you and Valve, this Section explains how the parties have agreed to resolve it.

A. Must Arbitrate All Claims Except Intellectual Property, Unauthorized Use, Piracy, or Theft

YOU AND VALVE AGREE TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES AND CLAIMS BETWEEN US IN INDIVIDUAL BINDING ARBITRATION. THAT INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO: (i) ANY ASPECT OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US; (ii) THIS AGREEMENT; OR (iii) YOUR USE OF STEAM, YOUR ACCOUNT, HARDWARE OR THE CONTENT AND SERVICES. IT APPLIES REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH CLAIMS ARE BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTE, FRAUD, UNFAIR COMPETITION, MISREPRESENTATION OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND INCLUDES ALL CLAIMS BROUGHT ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER PARTY.

However, this Section 11 does not apply to the following types of claims or disputes, which you or Valve may bring in any court with jurisdiction: (i) claims of infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights, including such claims seeking injunctive relief; and (ii) claims related to or arising from any alleged unauthorized use, piracy, or theft.

This Section 11 does not prevent you from bringing your dispute to the attention of any federal, state, or local government agencies that can, if the law allows, seek relief from us for you.

An arbitration is a proceeding before a neutral arbitrator, instead of before a judge or jury. Arbitration is less formal than a lawsuit in court, and provides more limited discovery. It follows different rules than court proceedings, and is subject to very limited review by courts. The arbitrator will issue a written decision and provide a statement of reasons if requested by either party. YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU AND VALVE ARE GIVING UP THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND TO HAVE A TRIAL BEFORE A JUDGE OR JURY.

B. Try to Resolve Dispute Informally First

You and Valve agree to make reasonable, good faith efforts to informally resolve any dispute before initiating arbitration. A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send the other a written notice that describes the nature and basis of the claim or dispute and sets forth the relief sought. If you and Valve do not reach an agreement to resolve that claim or dispute within thirty (30) calendar days after the notice is received, you or Valve may commence an arbitration. Written notice to Valve must be sent via postal mail to: ATTN: Arbitration Notice, Valve Corporation, P.O. Box 1688, Bellevue, WA 98004.

C. Arbitration Rules and Fees

The U.S. Federal Arbitration Act applies to this Section 11 as far as your country’s laws permit. The arbitration will be governed by the Consumer Arbitration Rules (or the Commercial Arbitration Rules, if the Consumer Arbitration rules are inapplicable) of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") as modified by this Agreement. Rules are available at http://www.adr.org. The arbitrator is bound by the terms of this Agreement.

The AAA will administer the arbitration. Outside the U.S., Valve will select a neutral arbitration provider that uses these or similar rules. It may be conducted through the submission of documents, by phone, or in person in the county where you live or at another mutually agreed location.

If you seek $10,000 or less, Valve agrees to promptly reimburse your filing fee and your share if any of AAA’s arbitration costs, including arbitrator compensation, unless the arbitrator determines your claims are frivolous or were filed for harassment. Valve agrees not to seek its attorneys’ fees or costs unless the arbitrator determines your claims are frivolous or were filed for harassment. If you seek more than $10,000 and the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules do not apply, the AAA’s arbitration costs, including arbitrator compensation, will be split between you and Valve according to the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules.

D. Individual Binding Arbitration Only

YOU AND VALVE AGREE NOT TO BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION, PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION, WHISTLE BLOWER ACTION, OR CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE ARBITRATION, EVEN IF AAA’s RULES WOULD OTHERWISE ALLOW ONE. THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF ONLY IN FAVOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY SEEKING RELIEF AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT OF THAT PARTY’S INDIVIDUAL CLAIM. You and Valve also agree not to seek to combine any action or arbitration with any other action or arbitration without the consent of all parties to this Agreement and all other actions or arbitrations.

This Agreement does not permit class, collective, or representative arbitration. A court has exclusive authority to rule on any assertion that it does.

E. What Happens if Part of Section 11 Is Found Illegal or Unenforceable

If any part of Section 11 (Dispute Resolution/Binding Arbitration/Class Action Waiver) is found to be illegal or unenforceable, the rest will remain in effect (with an arbitration award issued before any court proceeding begins), except that if a finding of partial illegality or unenforceability would allow class, collective, or representative arbitration, all of Section 11 will be unenforceable and the claim or dispute will be resolved in court.

12. MISCELLANEOUS ⏶

Except as otherwise expressly set forth in this Agreement, in the event that any provision of this Agreement shall be held by an arbitrator, court, or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be illegal or unenforceable, such provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining portions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. Section 11.E. governs if some parts of Section 11 (Dispute Resolution/Binding Arbitration/Class Action Waiver) are held to be illegal or unenforceable. This Agreement, including any Subscription Terms, Rules of Use, the Valve Privacy Policy, and the Valve Hardware Limited Warranty Policy, constitutes and contains the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any prior oral or written agreements. You agree that this Agreement is not intended to confer and does not confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the parties to this Agreement.

Was replaced with...

11. MISCELLANEOUS ⏶

In the event that any provision of this Agreement is held by a court to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision will be deemed severable and the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

This Agreement, including any Subscription Terms, Rules of Use, the Valve Privacy Policy, and the Valve Hardware Limited Warranty Policy, constitutes and contains the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any prior oral or written agreements. You agree that this Agreement is not intended to confer and does not confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the parties to this Agreement.

Other than a few minor wording edits, the rest of the SSA remains as it was last changed on April 25, 2023.

[Broaster07]

Also, section 10 about resolution:
You and Valve agree that this Agreement shall be deemed to have been made and executed in the State of Washington, U.S.A., and Washington law, excluding conflict of laws principles and the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, governs all disputes and claims arising out of or relating to: (i) any aspect of the relationship between us; (ii) this Agreement; or (iii) your use of Steam, your Account or the Content and Services. You and Valve agree that all disputes and claims between you and Valve (including any dispute or claim that arose before the existence of this or any prior agreement) shall be commenced and maintained exclusively in any state or federal court located in King County, Washington, having subject matter jurisdiction. You and Valve hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts and waive any objections as to personal jurisdiction or venue in such courts.

So if you can't handle any disputes, you need to appear in King County Courts?

[Elucidator]

引用自 lillxwin：

So I'm having a little trouble with reading this new agreement. In Part 2 section G it mentions that the content I subscribe to can't be modified, and doing so would break the new terms.

Section 2.G applies to:

any proprietary notices or labels from the Content and Services or any software accessed via Steam without the prior consent, in writing, of Valve.

This obviously refers to things like "Belongs to valve" and the Steam Subscriber agreement. These are notices. Labels are like the Valve logo.

And the second part is about:

emulate or redirect the communication protocols used by Valve in any network feature

In other words, a content patch is fine and will not break the Steam Subscriber Agreement.
It's also far more likely covered in a third party agreement.

引用自 lillxwin：

Secondly, in Part 1 section D it says that getting an order confirmation in your email means that Steam has merely seen that you placed an order, but it not a confirmation that you've subbed to the product.

They're saying, once you placed the order, you get a confirmation recept.
It doesn't mean that they accept the transaction.

This is because of Credit Cards and such. You can cancel it from a distance, so they haven't send you the product when you get the recept. You receive the receipt first. That is what they're saying.

You can confirm what actually got activated in your account status page, as well as what you've paid for each product.

---

Unfortunately Valve clarifies that they will not refund anything, not even your steam wallet.
and by refund I mean 'convert back to money you can use on other things or in other shops', no matter what happens. (which would be legally stealing I suppose)

The question is, can this be uphold by law. Valve is trying at least.

[crunchyfrog]

No I think you're misinterpreting the terms here.

You can of course modify the files and apply patches, even from the devs themselves. THEY own the IP after all.

What you may be getting wrong is that you are not authorised to modify AND REDISTRIBUTE the files.

Many of my games are modified and have always been on here. I don't know how Valve could possibly know enough or be able to do anything legally about it. It doesn't make sense, so you must have it wrong.

As for the "order conformation" thing, no, youre wrong again. What that means is that paperwork is ONLY an order confirmation. It is not intended to be anything more like a conformation of warranty or confirmation of service, etc.

It's like if you go to a shop, and place a deposit for some goods. They will give you a receipt for that deposit. It is NOT a receipt for the item in totalis, not is it a recipt for sale, or warranty or anything else. It is merely a piece of paper to show that ONE specific thing - that they received that deposit.

[rawWwRrr]

I love when they make a change to the SSA and everyone questions everything that hasn't changed as if they've read it for the first time, not understanding they've agreed to all those other terms numerous times already.

[crunchyfrog]

引用自 rawWwRrr：

I love when they make a change to the SSA and everyone questions everything that hasn't changed as if they've read it for the first time, not understanding they've agreed to all those other terms numerous times already.

Lol, this is sadly true.

It's a part of human nature. People will instantly go on alert and suspect bloody everything.

And because they don't understand what the terms are, instead of going "I don't know" they instead jump to "it must be bad".