Licensing is a bitch to maintain.

That, right there, is how you can tell the entire premise itself is ridiculous nonsense: if you buy something, there's nothing to maintain because every right associated with the purchase is transferred in perpetuity. There is no licensor left to need to maintain an ongoing relationship with.

If Steam "needs" a "license" to continue to host the files its customers have purchased on their behalf, it means somebody fucked up.