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PayPalValve Corporation makers of Steam are facing yet another lawsuit, this time around video game audio from the Performing Right Society (PRS) in the UK.
That's on top of the ongoing issue in the UK from Vicki Shotbolt that was recently given the go-ahead, and from New York on their lootboxes. Although, Valve did recently win their case against patent troll Rothschild and associated companies.
What's interesting is that this new lawsuit is centred around games generally being sold and downloaded on Steam, it's not specifically to do with Valve's own games. It's about Valve being the supplier of the games under the UK's Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 (Section 20). So not only do games need their music licenses, but Valve as a store is supposed to have a license too.
PRS directly mentioned the likes of "EA SPORTS FC™, Forza Horizon and Grand Theft Auto" and how Valve "has never obtained a licence for its use of the rights managed by PRS on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers".
According to PRS, they've tried to work with Valve on the licensing issue. As they said: "After having sought to license them for many years without appropriate engagement from Valve Corporation, PRS issued legal proceedings against Valve on 4 March 2026".
A tough time for Valve all around, especially so with all the issues their new hardware is facing with memory and storage pricing. Valve did just recently again reconfirm their Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller will ship in 2026.
From the PRS press release, Dan Gopal, Chief Commercial Officer, PRS for Music said: "Our members create music that enhances experiences and PRS exists to protect the value of their work with integrity, transparency, and fairness. Legal proceedings are not a step we take lightly, but when a business’s actions undermine those principles, we have a duty to act. Great video games rely on great soundtracks, and the songwriters and creators behind them deserve to have their contribution recognised and fairly valued."
I've reached out to Valve for a statement. Article updated 10/03/26 13:05 UTC with a statement from PRS.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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williamjcm 3 hours ago
BloodScourge 3 hours ago
Liam Dawe 3 hours ago
Also, why isn't Epic Games and GOG sued over it, as well as all of the key vendors? Are they next in line to be sued, when Valve gives in?
Arehandoro 3 hours ago
From the PRS press release, Dan Gopal, Chief Commercial Officer, PRS for Music said:I had read Don Copal (Manny Calavera's boss) and for a moment I thought; Ha, of course this guy is evil!
"Our members create music that enhances experiences and PRS exists to protect the value of their work with integrity, transparency, and fairness. Legal proceedings are not a step we take lightly, but when a business’s actions undermine those principles, we have a duty to act. Great video games rely on great soundtracks, and the songwriters and creators behind them deserve to have their contribution recognised and fairly valued.""Yet we allow the likes of Spotify to barely pay artists because in reality we only care about PRS as an organization, not about the works of anyone."
Quoting: wytrabbitI suppose they also want DVD/Blu-ray retailers to pay them for music used in the movies and TV shows they sell?Italy is introducing tax payments for cloud storage for that.
https://kpmg.com/us/en/taxnewsflash/news/2025/01/tnf-italy-direct-and-indirect-tax-measures-in-2025-budget-law.html
Quoting: liloventWhy aren't they sueing the owners of these games, Microsoft, Take Two and Electronic Arts?These already paid a license. They want the store to pay a license as well.
In this case:
Great video games rely on great soundtracks, and the songwriters and creators behind them deserve to have their contribution recognised and fairly valued.did this caveman Dan Gopal just invalidate his entire legal proceeding with that sentence?!?!?!?!? 🤣 Yes Dan, great games do rely on great soundtracks, yes Dan, they do. Yes Dan, you should absolutely have the game developers pay licenses for that music, yes Dan. You know what I didn't see anywhere in your statement Dan? Anything about a storefront Dan. Oops you forgot something Dan.
In 2007, PRS for Music took a Scottish car servicing company to court because the employees were allegedly "listening to the radio at work, allowing the music to be 'heard by colleagues and customers'".From the Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRS_for_Music#Legal_cases
nadrolinux 2 hours ago
Quoting: liloventWhy aren't they sueing the owners of these games, Microsoft, Take Two and Electronic Arts?This is copyrights owner right to select, who they will sue. I think MS is trying to destroy Valve/Steam. Did you remember court battle with Novel against rights to Unix?
Also, why isn't Epic Games and GOG sued over it, as well as all of the key vendors? Are they next in line to be sued, when Valve gives in?
So not only do games need their music licenses, but Valve as a store is supposed to have a license too.I don't think they are. And Valve doesn't think they are, either. Obviously we'll see what the courts say. Licensing agencies like to do a shakedown on the off-chance.
Quoting: MayeulCWell, Microsoft also has several stores, one in Windows and another one on XBox where it sells other games not developed or published by them. And that without talking about GamePass or their cloud services where again you can play games from other companies.Quoting: liloventWhy aren't they sueing the owners of these games, Microsoft, Take Two and Electronic Arts?These already paid a license. They want the store to pay a license as well.
We can also talk about Sony, Nintendo, Apple or Google and their own game stores. I doubt any of them license the songs that all the games sold through their store use.
Valve is not letting users listen to the music besides what's already licensed within the videogame, and the users are exposed to the IP only after purchasing the game - and its musical license(s) - and paying the due to the authors, directly or indirectly.
How that claim could have merit?
Quoting: _MarsIt happened in other countries, too. My hairdresser has a plaque informing that the music is only for employees and the customers ought to abstain from listening to it. That's where it's headed...In 2007, PRS for Music took a Scottish car servicing company to court because the employees were allegedly "listening to the radio at work, allowing the music to be 'heard by colleagues and customers'".From the Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRS_for_Music#Legal_cases
Kimyrielle 2 hours ago
That's...rich. But it's also the UK, home of some of world's dumbest laws.
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