Guess What, Court Says You Might Not Own That Record You Bought

LP record purchase

Wired.com’s excellent Threat Level blog has a post called Guess What, You Don’t Own That Software You Bought. It’s all about the federal appeals court saying today that software makers can use shrink-wrap and click-wrap licenses to forbid the transfer or resale of their wares, an apparent gutting of the so-called first-sale doctrine.

How might this apply to records? We already know that you do not own songs you “buy” from iTunes, you merely own a license to play them. What if a record company decided to include a note on every record and CD saying that your purchase of the physical media was actually a purchase of a non-transferable license to play that CD or record? You would then not be allowed to “sell” that license to play without the written permission of the issuing record company.

No wonder eBay filed in opposition to the previous ruling.

Read the full article for more analysis and explanation: Guess What, You Don’t Own That Software You Bought

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