Contracts on data access and use between data holders and users of connected products and related services 

1    Parties and Product/Related Service

1.1    Parties to the contract (‘Contract’)

This Contract on the access to and use of data is made between Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. ('Data Holder') and any party that identifies itself as the user within the meaning of the Data Act and declares its assent to the terms of this Contract by taking the following steps: by either agreeing to the terms and conditions provided by clicking 'OK' for the use of the Product (defined below) and/or Related Service(s) (defined below), or by using the Product and/or Related Service(s) after having had the opportunity to read the terms or having acknowledged acceptance of the terms in written correspondence with the Data Holder ('User') referred to below collectively as 'the Parties' and individually as 'the Party'. 

1.2    Product/Related Service

This Contract is made with regard to:  

(a) the following connected product(s) (the 'Product'): PlayStation console(s), any other accessories related to them;

(b) the following related service(s) (the 'Related Service(s)'): the PlayStation Network and other services provided in relation to the PlayStation console(s) and its accessories. 

The User declares that they are either the owner of the Product or contractually entitled to use the Product under a rent, lease or similar contract and/or to receive the Related Service(s) under a service contract. The User who first enters into this Contract with the Data Holder in relation to the Product and/or Related Service will be considered as the ‘Initial User’. The Initial User may subsequently transfer their rights under clause 9.1 or grant rights under clause 9.2. 

2    Data covered by the Contract     

The data covered by this Contract (the 'Data') consist of any readily available Product Data or Related Service(s) Data within the meaning of the Data Act. 

3    Data use and sharing by the Data Holder

3.1    Agreed use of non-personal Data by the Data Holder

3.1.1    Without prejudice to any legal right to use the Data, the Data Holder shall be entitled to use the Data that constitute non-personal data for purposes including, but not limited to, the following (provided that, if the User agrees to a broader scope of use of non-personal data by the Data Holder in agreements other than this Contract, no provision of this Contract shall reduce the scope of use agreed upon in such other agreements):

(a) performing any agreement with the User or activities related to such agreement (e.g. issuing invoices, generating and providing reports or 1 analysis, financial projections, impact assessments, calculating staff benefit);

(b) providing support, warranty, guarantee or similar services or to assess User's, Data Holder's or third party's claims (e.g. regarding malfunctions of the Product) related to the Product or Related Service;  

(c) monitoring and maintaining the functioning, safety and security of the Product or Related Service and ensuring quality control;  

(d) improving the functioning of any product or related service offered by the Data Holder;  

(e) developing new products or services, including artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, by the Data Holder, by third parties acting on behalf of the Data Holder (i.e. where the Data Holder decides which tasks will be entrusted to such parties and benefits therefrom), in collaboration with other parties or through special purpose companies (such as joint ventures);  

(f) aggregating these Data with other data or creating derived data, for any lawful purpose, including with the aim of selling or otherwise making available such aggregated or derived data to third parties, provided such data do not allow specific data transmitted to the Data Holder from the connected product to be identified or allow a third party to derive those data from the dataset. 

4    Data access by the User upon request    

The following rights and obligations apply if the User cannot access the Data directly from the Product or Related Service in accordance with Article 3 of the Data Act. In that case, the User is entitled to obtain access to the Data from the Data Holder upon request, in accordance with Article 4 of the Data Act.

4.1     Data Access Arrangement

4.1.1     The Data shall be made available to the User by the Data Holder, at the request of the User or a party acting on the User’s behalf. The request may be submitted through https://www.playstation.com/legal/eu-data-act/. The Data Holder is under no obligation to verify the identity of the recipient of the requested data specified in the submission form. The Data Holder may require the User to provide such information as the Data Holder considers reasonably necessary to verify that the requesting party is the User and/or that any third party is properly acting on behalf of the User.

4.1.2    When the User is not the data subject in the sense of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (‘GDPR’), the User must (i) indicate to the Data Holder the legal basis for processing under Article 6 of the GDPR (and, where relevant, the applicable derogation under Article 9 of that Regulation and Article 5(3) of Directive (EU)2002/58), and (ii) include an email address for the Data Holder to contact the data subject. The User warrants that the data subject's email address indicated in such request is accurate and that the data subject has been informed about the processing activities related to the sharing of its personal data from the Data Holder to the User in accordance with Article 14 of the GDPR. 

5    Protection of trade secrets

When Data are made available to the User upon request, the Data Holder may identify that certain Data covered by this Contract are protected as trade secrets, as defined by Directive (EU) 2016/943 (referred to as the ‘Trade Secrets Directive’). In such case, the Data Holder is entitled to certain rights, primarily to continue to preserve the confidentiality of the trade secrets in question. 

5.1    Applicability of trade secret arrangements

5.1.1    The protective measures agreed in writing pursuant to clauses 5.2. and 5.3 of this Contract, apply exclusively to Data or metadata included in the Data to be made available by the Data Holder to the User, which are protected as trade secrets (as defined in Article 2(1) of the Trade Secrets Directive (EU) 2016/943), held by the Data Holder or another Trade Secret Holder (as defined in said Directive). 

5.1.2    The Data protected as trade secrets (hereafter referred to as 'Identified Trade Secrets') and the identity of the Trade Secret Holder(s) are separately identified by the Data Holder in writing, which shall form an integral part of this Contract.

5.1.3    The obligations set out in clauses 5.2 and 5.3 remain in effect after any termination of the Contract, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. 

5.2    Protective measures taken by the User 

5.2.1    The User must apply the protective measures separately identified by the Data Holder in writing (hereinafter: 'Identified Trade Secrets U Measures') and agreed upon in writing. 

5.2.2    In order to verify if and to what extent the User has implemented and is maintaining the Identified Trade Secrets U Measures, the User agrees to either (i) annually obtain, at User's expense, a security conformity assessment audit report from an independent third party chosen by the User, or (ii) to annually allow a security conformity assessment audit from the Data Holder. Such security audit report in (i) above must demonstrate User's compliance with availability, integrity, and confidentiality principles as further described in the Identified Trade Secrets U Measures as applicable at that time. The results of the audit report in (i) above will be submitted to both Parties without undue delay.  

5.3    Protective measures taken by the Data Holder 

5.3.1    The Data Holder may apply any appropriate technical and organisational protection measures to preserve the confidentiality of the shared and otherwise disclosed Identified Trade Secrets (hereinafter: 'Identified Trade Secrets DH Measures').  

5.3.2    The Data Holder may also add unilaterally appropriate technical and organisational protection measures, if they do not negatively affect the access and use of the Data by the User under this Contract.  

5.3.3    The User undertakes not to alter or remove such Identified Trade Secrets DH Measures, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties. 

5.3.4    If the User fails to implement and maintain their Identified Trade Secrets U Measures and if this failure is duly substantiated by the Data Holder, e.g. in a security audit report from an independent third party, the Data Holder is entitled to withhold or suspend the sharing of the specific Identified Trade Secrets, until the User has resolved the incident.  

5.4    End of production and destruction of infringing goods 

Without prejudice to other remedies available to the Data Holder in accordance with this Contract or applicable law, if the User alters or removes technical protection measures applied by the Data Holder or does not maintain the technical and organisational measures taken by them in agreement with the Data Holder in accordance with clauses 5.2 and 5.3, the Data Holder may request the User:  

(a)    to erase the Data made available by the Data Holder or any copies thereof; and/or

(b)    end the production, offering or placing on the market or use of goods, derivative data or services produced on the basis of knowledge obtained through the Identified Trade Secrets, or the importation, export or storage of infringing goods for those purposes, and destroy any infringing goods, where there is a serious risk that the unlawful use of those data will cause significant harm to the Data Holder or the Trade Secret Holder or where such a measure would not be disproportionate in light of the interests of the Data Holder or the Trade Secret Holder; and/or

(c)    compensate a party suffering from the misuse or disclosure of such unlawfully accessed or used data. 

6    Data use by the User

6.1    Permissible use and sharing of data 

The User may use the Data made available by the Data Holder upon their request for any lawful purpose and/or share the Data freely subject to the limitations below. 

6.2    Unauthorised use and sharing of data

6.2.1    The User undertakes not to engage in the following:     

(a)    use the Data to develop a connected product that competes with the Product, nor share the Data with a third party with that intent;   

(b)    use such Data to derive insights about the economic situation, assets and production methods of the manufacturer or, where applicable, the Data Holder;  

(c)    use coercive means to obtain access to Data or, for that purpose, abuse gaps in the Data Holder's technical infrastructure which is designed to protect the Data; 

(d)    share the Data with a third-party considered as a gatekeeper under Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925; 

(e)    use or share the Data in any way that does or could undermine the Identified Trade Secrets U Measures, Identified Trade Secrets DH Measures and/or any other provision of this Contract; and

(f)    use the Data they receive for any purposes that infringe EU law or applicable Member State law. 

6.3    Prevention of Abuse and Misuse 

6.3.1    The User shall not, and shall not permit any third party to: 

(a)    submit excessive, repetitive, or automated requests for access to Data that may impair, disrupt, or place an unreasonable burden on the Data Holder’s systems;     
(b)    use automated means, including bots, scripts, or scraping tools, to access or extract Data, except where expressly authorised by the Data Holder; 

6.3.2    The Data Holder may implement reasonable and proportionate technical and organisational measures to prevent abuse of Data access, including rate limiting, authentication requirements, and monitoring mechanisms. 
6.3.3    Where the Data Holder reasonably suspects a breach of this clause, it may, to the extent permitted by applicable law: 

(a)    suspend or limit access to the Data; 

(b)    require the User to provide information demonstrating compliance; and/or 

(c)    take any other proportionate measures necessary to protect its systems, the Data, or other users.

7    Data sharing upon the User's request with a Data Recipient 

7.1    Making Data available to a Data Recipient 

7.1.1    The Data, together with the relevant metadata necessary to interpret and use those Data, will be made available to a third party acting on behalf of the Users (‘Data Recipient’) by the Data Holder, free of charge for the User, upon request presented by the User or the Data Recipient. The request can be made using the form specified in https://www.playstation.com/legal/eu-data-act/. The Data Holder may request the information it considers reasonably necessary to verify that the Data Recipient is acting on behalf of the User. Upon duly substantiated request of the Data Holder, the User and/or the Recipient commits to provide any relevant documentation to support these declarations to the Data Holder.

7.1.2    When the User is not the data subject in the sense of GDPR, the User must (i) indicate to the Data Holder the legal basis for processing under Article 6 of the GDPR (and, where relevant, the applicable derogation under Article 9 of that Regulation and Article 5(3) of Directive (EU) 2002/58), and (ii) include an email address for the Data Holder to contact the data subject. The User warrants that the data subject's email address indicated in such request is accurate and that the data subject has been informed about the processing activities related to the sharing of its personal data from the Data Holder to the User in accordance with Article 14 of the GDPR.  

7.1.3    Where the User submits such a request, the Data Holder will agree with the Data Recipient the arrangements for making the Data available under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and in a transparent manner in accordance with Chapter III and Chapter IV of the Data Act. 

7.1.4    The User acknowledges that a request under clause 7.1 cannot benefit a third party considered as a gatekeeper under Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 and cannot be made in the context of the testing of new connected products, substances or processes that are not yet placed on the market. 

7.1.5    The User acknowledges that the third party shall only process the Data made available to them pursuant to clause 7.1.1 for the purposes and under the conditions agreed with the User. The Data Holder shall not be held liable towards the User or any other party for Data Recipient’s use of the Data, and the User, to the extent allowed under EU or applicable Member State law, shall indemnify and hold the Data Holder harmless, for Data Recipient’s use of the Data. Limitations on User’s rights. 

7.1.6    The User agrees to inform the Data Holder separately in writing of the purpose, nature and duration of the limitation of the User's right to use or share the Data, and the part of the Data concerned by such limitations, if the User desires to put such limitations. 

8    Compensation to the User

The User agrees that it is not entitled to any compensation for the Data Holder’s use of the Data pursuant to this Contract.

9    Transfer of use and multiple users 

9.1    Where the User contractually transfers (i) ownership of the Product, or (ii) their temporary rights to use the Product, and/or (iii) their rights to receive Related Service(s) to a subsequent natural or legal person ('Subsequent User') and loses the status of a User after the transfer to a Subsequent User, the Parties undertake to comply with the requirements set out in this clause.

In such case, the User must: 

9.1.1    if the use of the Product and/or Related Service involves a new Contract between the Subsequent User and the Data Holder (for example, via creation of a new account):

(a)    ensure that the Subsequent User cannot use the Initial User's account; and 

(b)    if requested by the Data Holder, notify the Data Holder of the transfer; or  

9.1.2    alternatively to clause 9.1.1, if the use of the Product and/or Related Service does not involve a new Contract between the Subsequent User and the Data Holder: 

(a)    assign (and hereby does assign) to the Subsequent User, as of the transfer date, their rights and obligations as a User and the Data Holder hereby agrees to such assignment; 
(b)    if requested by the Data Holder, notify the Data Holder of the transfer and the identity of the Subsequent User.

9.1.3    The rights of the Data Holder to use Product Data or Related Service(s) Data generated prior to the transfer will not be affected by a transfer i.e. the rights and obligations relating to the Data transferred under the Contract before the transfer will continue after the transfer. 

9.2    Multiple users

9.2.1    Where the Initial User grants a right to use of the Product and/or Related Service(s) to a third party ('Additional User') while retaining their quality as a User, the Parties undertake to comply with the requirements set out in this clause.

The User must act as a first contact point for the Additional User if the Additional User would like to make a request under Articles 4 or 5 of the Data Act or a claim regarding the use or making available of the Data by the Data Holder under this Contract. The Data Holder should be notified of any request or claim in that regard by the User without undue delay and the Parties must collaborate to address any request or claim.

9.3    Liability of the Initial User 

If the User's failure to comply with their obligations under clauses 9.1 or 9.2 leads to the use and sharing of Product or Related Service(s) Data by the Data Holder in the absence of a contract with the Subsequent or Additional User, the User will indemnify the Data Holder and hold them harmless in respect of any claims by the Subsequent or Additional User towards the Data Holder for the use of the Data after the transfer.

10    Contract Termination

10.1    Termination 

This Contract terminates in respect of a Product or Related Service: 

(a)    upon the destruction of the Product or permanent discontinuation of the Related Service, or when the Product or Related Service is otherwise put out of service or loses its capacity to generate the Data in an irreversible manner; or  
(b)    upon the User losing ownership of the Product or when the User's rights with regard to the Product under a rental, lease or similar agreement or the user's rights with regard to the Related Service come to an end; or  
(c)    when both Parties so agree, with or without replacing this Contract by a new contract. 

Points (b) and (c) shall be without prejudice to the contract(s) remaining in force between the Data Holder and any Subsequent or Additional User.

10.2    Effects of termination

10.2.1    Termination pursuant to clause 10.1 of this Contract releases both Parties from their obligation to effect and to receive future performance but does not affect the rights and liabilities that have accrued up to the time of termination.  

10.2.2    Termination pursuant to clause 10.1 does not affect any provision in this Contract which is to operate even after the Contract has come to an end, in particular clause 5.1.3 on protection of trade secrets, clause 6.2 on unauthorised use and sharing of data, clause 12.1 on confidentiality, clause 12.3 on applicable law and clause 12.6 on dispute resolution, which remain in full force and effect. 

10.2.3    Termination of a Product or Related Service pursuant to clause 10.1 does not affect the continuation of this Contract in respect of any other Product or Related Service subject of this Contract.  

11    Remedies for breach of contract

11.1    Cases of non-performance 

11.1.1    A non-performance of an obligation by a Party is material to this Contract if: 

(a)    strict compliance with the obligation is of the essence of this Contract, in particular because non-compliance would cause significant harm to the other Party, the User or other protected third parties; or 
(b)    the non-performance substantially deprives the aggrieved Party of what it was entitled to expect under this Contract, unless the other Party did not foresee and could not reasonably have foreseen that result; or  

(c)    the non-performance is intentional; or 

(d)    it is clear from the circumstances that the non-performing Party’s future performance cannot be relied on. 

11.1.2    A Party's non-performance is excused if it proves that it is due to an impediment beyond its control and that it could not reasonably have been expected to take the impediment into account at the time of the conclusion of this Contract, or to have avoided or overcome the impediment or its consequences. Where the impediment is only temporary the excuse has effect for the period during which the impediment exists. However, if the delay amounts to a material non-performance, the other Party may treat it as such. The non-performing Party must ensure that notice of the impediment and of its effect on its ability to perform is received by the other Party within a reasonable time after the non-performing Party knew or ought to have known of these circumstances. The other Party is entitled to damages for any loss resulting from the non-receipt of such notice.

11.2    Remedies

11.2.1    In the case of a non-performance by a Party, the aggrieved Party shall have the remedies listed in the following clauses, without prejudice to any other remedies available under applicable law.  

11.2.2    Remedies which are not incompatible may be cumulated.  
11.2.3    A Party may not resort to any of the remedies to the extent that its own act or state of affairs caused the other Party's non-performance, such as where a shortcoming in its own data infrastructure did not allow the other Party to duly perform its obligations. A Party may also not rely on a claim for damages for loss suffered to the extent that it could have reduced the loss by taking reasonable steps. 

11.2.4    The aggrieved party can:  

(a)    request that the non-performing Party comply, without undue delay, with its obligations under this Contract, unless it would be unlawful or impossible or specific performance would cause the non performing Party unreasonable effort or expense;

(b)    request that the non-performing Party erases Data accessed or used in violation of this Contract and any copies thereof;  

(c)    claim damages for pecuniary damages caused to the aggrieved Party by the non-performance which is not excused under clause 11.1.2. The non-performing Party is liable only for damages which it foresaw or could reasonably have foreseen at the time of conclusion of this Contract as a likely result of its non-performance, unless the non-performance was intentional or grossly negligent.

11.2.5    The Data Holder can also suspend the sharing of Data with the User until the User complies with their obligations or restrictions.

12    General Provision

12.1    Confidentiality 

12.1.1    The following information disclosed by the Data Holder to the User will be considered confidential information:  

(a)    information referring to the trade secrets, financial situation or any other aspect of the operations of the Data Holder, unless the Data Holder has made this information public; 

(b)    information referring to the trade secrets, financial situation or any other aspect of the operations of a third party, unless they have already made this information public;  
(c)    information referring to the performance of this Contract and any disputes or other irregularities arising in the course of its performance;  

12.1.2    The User agrees to take all reasonable measures to store securely and keep in full confidence the information referred to in clause 12.1.1 and not to disclose or make such information available to any third party unless the User  

(a)    is under a legal obligation to disclose or make available the relevant information; or 

(b)    has to disclose or make the relevant information available in order to fulfil its obligations under this Contract; or  
(c)    has obtained the prior written consent of the Data Holder or the party providing the confidential information or affected by its disclosure. 

12.1.3    These confidentiality obligations remain applicable after the termination of the Contract. 

12.1.4    These confidentiality obligations do not remove any more stringent obligations under (i) the GDPR, (ii) the provisions implementing Directive 2002/58/EC or Directive (EU) 2016/943, or (iii) any other EU or Member State law and (iv) if applicable, clause 6 of this Contract. 

12.2    Means of communication

The Data Holder will make any notification or other communication required by this Contract to the email address provided by the User via https://www.playstation.com/legal/eu data-act/. The User must make any notification or other communication required by this Contract to SIE-EU-Data-Act@sony.com. Any such notice or communication will be deemed to have been received on the date of transmission.

12.3    Applicable law 

This Contract is governed by the law of the Netherlands. 

12.4    Entire Contract, modifications and severability

12.4.1    This Contract (together with its appendices and any other documents referred to in this Contract) constitutes the entire Contract between the Parties with respect to the subject matter of this Contract and supersedes all prior contracts or agreements and understandings of the Parties, oral and written, with respect to the subject matter of this Contract. 
12.4.2    Any modification of this Contract shall be valid only if agreed to in writing, including in any electronic form that, in line with good commercial practices, is considered as fulfilling the requirements of a written document.
12.4.3    If any provision of this Contract is found to be void, invalid, voidable or unenforceable for whatever reason, and if this provision is severable from the remaining terms of the Contract, these remaining provisions shall be unaffected by this and will continue to be valid and enforceable. Any resulting gaps or ambiguities in this Contract shall be dealt with according to clause 12.5.

12.5    Interpretation 

12.5.1    This Contract is concluded by the Parties against the background of the Parties' rights and obligations under the Data Act. Any provision in this Contract must be interpreted so as to comply with the Data Act and other EU law or national legislation adopted in accordance with EU law as well as any applicable national law that is compatible with EU law and cannot be derogated from by agreement. 

12.5.2    If any gap or ambiguity in this Contract cannot be resolved in the way referred to by clause 12.5.1, this Contract shall be interpreted in the light of the rules of interpretation provided for by the applicable law (see clause 12.3) and, in any case, according to the principle of good faith and fair dealing.

12.6    Dispute resolution

12.6.1    The Parties agree to use their best efforts to resolve disputes amicably and, before bringing a case before a court or tribunal, to submit their dispute to a competent dispute settlement body according to Article 10 of the Data Act.
12.6.2    Submission of a dispute to a dispute settlement body in accordance with clause 12.6.1 does, however, not affect the User's right to lodge a complaint with the national competent authority designated in accordance with Article 37 of the Data Act, or the right of any Party to seek an effective remedy before a court or tribunal in a Member State. 
12.6.3    If the user is a business: for any dispute that cannot be settled in accordance with clause 12.6.1, the courts of the Netherlands have exclusive jurisdiction to hear the case.