Earlier I wrote about Universal Music Group's (UMG) suit against Troy Augusto (aka Roast Beast Music Collectibles, eBay handle roastbeastmusic), who buys collectible promo CDs at used record stores around Los Angeles and resells them on eBay. A brief UMG filed contended that that selling or even giving away a promotional CD is piracy.
UMG contends that the "promotional use only" labels on the CDs mean they do not fall under the First Sale doctrine in copyright law which:
allows purchasers of copyrighted material to sell that which they have purchased without violating the copyright laws. The theory here is similar to that of the exhaustion doctrine in patent law. The copyright owner must derive all revenue from the so-called first sale, and cannot control the future disposition of the article originally sold.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero ruled against UMG. He ruled that the promotional CDs are gifts distributed by UMG, as they are mailed free and unsolicited to thousands of people without any expectation or intention of their return. Thus, they are covered by the First Sale Doctrine.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which had been defending Augusto, issued a press release. EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry said:
"This is a very important ruling for consumers, and not just those who buy or sell used CDs. The right of first sale also protects libraries, used bookstores, and businesses that rent movies and videogames. This ruling affirms and protects the traditional balance between the rights of copyright owners and the rights of the public."
In the same press release, Joseph C. Gratz, attorney with Keker & Van Nest said:
"It was clear to the court that these CDs were the property of Mr. Augusto, and therefore he had the right to resell them. Copyright holders can't strip consumers of their first sale rights just by sticking a 'Not for Sale' label on a CD."
So rest easy, readers. If you have a promo CD, you can now throw it away if you want; UMG's original brief said that was piracy as well.
Source: By Tech Ex http://technologyexpert.blogspot.com/
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