Do we even own things anymore?

Glenn Reynolds: Do we even own things anymore?
"...But back to Gilbert’s story.
He’s a gadget fan, and Google has left him hanging. 
Here’s how he tells it:
“Seventeen months ago, Google acquired Revolv, a very cool home automation hub. 
It is a small circular device about the size of a small container of hummus that uses a variety of common home automation radios to communicate with light switches, garage door openers, home alarms, motion sensors, A/C controllers etc. ... 
When I arrive home my lights turn on. 
In lieu of motion detecting lights, I have a Z-wave motion detector that notifies my Revolv when there is motion on any side of our home and turns on the appropriate lights. 
Although I do set a home alarm, there is really no more effective vacation security than the programmatic turning on, dimming, and turning off of lights in a manner that would indicate that people are home. 
After buying my Revolv I put my outdoor landscaping light on it and threw away the old timer. 
Now at Sunset my landscape lighting turns on. Holiday lighting does the same. It’s magical.”
But as we all know, in the fairy tales the “magical” tool that makes everything wonderful always has a catch. 
In Gilbert’s case, the catch is that Google will shut down his device. 
They won’t just stop updating it, or end support. 
They’ll turn it off. 
Even though it “belongs” to Gilbert.
Gilbert notes: “On May 15th, my house will stop working. 
My landscape lighting will stop turning on and off, my security lights will stop reacting to motion, and my home made vacation burglar deterrent will stop working. 
This is a conscious intentional decision by Google/Nest.”
They’re “bricking” his device, making it an inanimate lump of circuitry that no more useful than a brick.
Or, actually, less useful, since you can build things with bricks.
They can do this because although you own the hardware, you don’t actually own the software in your devices; technically, when you buy the device, you just get a license to use the software.
(In a similar situation, General Motors and John Deere have said that they still own the software in the cars and other vehicles you buy.)