Sony defends itself by stating that reasonable customers know they do not own a game when they buy it in digital format. But that will have to be proven, and that could be complicated given that misleading terms relating to ownership seem to recur often on PSN pages. The consumer rights website Consumer Rights Wiki has moreover compiled a long list of these mentions, with links to the pages in question.
The word “own” used all over the place
A few examples in no particular order: “To upgrade to the PS5 digital version a qualifying digital PS4 game you already own…”, “As soon as you start the console, you will see all the information about the games you own”, “Track your journey on PS5 with information on your total play time, the games you own, and much more”, “If you already own the PS4 version, you do not need to purchase the PS5 version of this game”, “Each review comes from a verified owner of this game or item”… A vague notion for the general publicIn our opinion, if the notion of a “license to use” may be understandable to someone with sufficient technical background, that is certainly not the case for a casual gamer, such as a child or parents.