You can sell your old Albums again -- legally

English Soapbox
#1

I got this notice yesterday, yay. I think this was the practiced normal here in the US but of course copyright holders wanted a bigger slice of the pie. Think huge companies with copyrights…hmmm record labels maybe??

You bought it, you own it: What does the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Kirtsaeng case mean for you?

In a landmark ruling yesterday, the Supreme Court affirmed that no matter where in the world something was made or purchased, you own it.

This is a huge victory for students, libraries, retailers, and consumers of all sorts!

The Kirtsaeng decision vindicates the foundational principle of “first sale” in copyright law: copyright owners only have rights on the “first sale” of their work. After that, you can lend, sell, give away, or trash a copy of a copyrighted work that you lawfully own.

We believe that this is evidence that the conversation on copyright is changing, and people are increasingly recognizing the need for balance.

We wouldn’t be able to do any of this without your support! Help us spread the word on this enormous victory:

Follow us on Twitter Tweet this: RT@publicknowledge: Big Win! #SCOTUS preserves #firstsale doctrine in #Kirtsaeng ruling! http://bit.ly/WTxS34 #right2own

Thanks for your support,
The Public Knowledge Team

#2

On 2013-03-22 15:36, anika200 wrote:
>
> I got this notice yesterday, yay. I think this was the practiced normal
> here in the US but of course copyrighters wanted a bigger slice of the
> pie.

·······················
>> The Kirtsaeng decision vindicates the foundational principle of “first
>> sale” in copyright law: copyright owners only have rights on the “first
>> sale” of their work. After that, you can lend, sell, give away, or
>> trash a copy of a copyrighted work that you lawfully own.
>>
>> We believe that this is evidence that the conversation on copyright is
>> changing, and people are increasingly recognizing the need for balance.
·······················

That’s interesting. I don’t know how that will affect, if it will
propagate, to other countries.

But technically, how can we “lend, sell, give away, or trash”, if the
work is protected by DRM?

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 12.1 x86_64 “Asparagus” at Telcontar)

#3

On Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:28:06 +0000, Carlos E. R. wrote:

> On 2013-03-22 15:36, anika200 wrote:
>>
>> I got this notice yesterday, yay. I think this was the practiced normal
>> here in the US but of course copyrighters wanted a bigger slice of the
>> pie.
>
> ·······················
>>> The Kirtsaeng decision vindicates the foundational principle of
>>> “first sale” in copyright law: copyright owners only have rights on
>>> the “first sale” of their work. After that, you can lend, sell, give
>>> away, or trash a copy of a copyrighted work that you lawfully own.
>>>
>>> We believe that this is evidence that the conversation on copyright
>>> is changing, and people are increasingly recognizing the need for
>>> balance.
> ·······················
>
> That’s interesting. I don’t know how that will affect, if it will
> propagate, to other countries.
>
> But technically, how can we “lend, sell, give away, or trash”, if the
> work is protected by DRM?

Usually, DRM’ed content is not only covered by a copyright, but also by a
license agreement of some sort.

For example, Penguin Books UK has the following terms in their agreement
(taken from http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/html/uk/ecommerce/
basket_terms.html):

"26. In the case of eBooks, permission is granted to download a single
copy of an eBook to the installed reader on your computer for use by a
single user of that computer at any time, provided that:

(a) the eBook is not distributed or transmitted over any
network or communication line

(b) the eBook is used for personal entertainment only;

(c) the eBook is not copied or modified in any way;

(d) you do not remove any copyright or other proprietary
notices contained in the eBook.

This permission granted to you may not be transferred to a third party,
nor may you sublicense any of your rights under it.

This permission is effective until terminated. You can terminate it at
any time by destroying the eBook. It will also terminate automatically if
you fail to comply with any part of this Clause 24. You agree to delete
the eBook immediately on any such termination."

There may be some debate about whether such terms are actually
enforceable (licenses at least in the US are interpreted by the states
rather than at a federal level), but this does read (at least to me, as a
non-lawyer) as a license agreement and or “terms of use” rather than as
anything to do with copyright.

Though these terms arguably do not conflict with first sale doctrine -
“single user of that computer at any time” doesn’t mean it isn’t
transferable.

Jim

–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C

#4

So if I buy the computer or pick it out of a dumpster & the book is on it now it’s MINE!

#5

On Sun, 24 Mar 2013 08:36:02 +0000, Sagemta wrote:

> So if I buy the computer or pick it out of a dumpster & the book is on
> it now it’s MINE!

Actually, there’s another section in the terms that make it even more
confusing:

"RISK AND OWNERSHIP

  1. Risk of damage or loss of the Products shall pass to you on delivery
    or, if you fail to take delivery of the Products, at the time when we
    have tried to deliver the Products.

  2. Title in the Products (other than eBooks) shall pass to you on
    delivery or, if you fail to take delivery of the Products, at the time
    when we tried to deliver the Products to you."

One read of item 22 is that ownership of eBooks is not transferred to the
purchaser.

Jim

–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C