Legal Question in Technology Law in Minnesota
Charging for Expansions
Is it legal for a company to charge for a software expansion that, if not purchased, will effectivly make the origionally purchased software worthless? The example I'm curious about is for an online computer game that is releasing an expansion pack soon. Without the expansion pack players will quickly fall behind other players who purchase the expansion. Players who do not purchase the expansion will not be able to compete with other players, have trouble finding groups, etc. The origional game cost $50.00 or more and I assume that the expansion will run about the same. It feels like the company is imposing a mandatory additional fee of $50.00 for all of its players to continue playing. This doesn't seem legal. Thank you.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Charging for Expansions
This issue really comes down to the applicable provisions contained in the license agreement that you agreed to in the original version of the software. Presumably, there is no contractual provision indicating that refusal to license updates or expansion packs to the software will allow a user to play the game in the same manner as those who do license the upgrades.
There is no "law" that otherwise prohibits this type of process.
Re: Charging for Expansions
Improvements and add-ons are always legal. Such bundling was best exemplified by Microsoft and how it has bundeled its products.
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