eBay Testing Sales Of Downloadable Songs
from the this-ought-to-be-interesting... dept
Remember last year when someone tried to sell their legally purchased iTunes song on eBay? Based on the right of first sale, it should be perfectly legal, but there were plenty of thorny questions brought up. In fact, they were so thorny that eBay killed the auction. Now, via Engadget, we learn that eBay may be reconsidering. They’re testing a program where people will be able to sell their digital downloads under very specific circumstances. Also, while there may be a right of first sale, there isn’t a right of second sale: eBay won’t let anyone resell a digital download they bought — so buyer beware. Update: Since there’s a bit of confusion, my use of “second sale” here is a very bad joke, that clearly no one is getting. Please stop the emails and comments. I know what the right of first sale means. I will also stop trying to make jokes.
Comments on “eBay Testing Sales Of Downloadable Songs”
"first sale" doctrine
The whole point behind “first sale” is that the creator loses control after the first sale. It is not, as your post seems to implies, that a consumer can sell something they bought, but that this new owner cannot sell it.
You can read more about it on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_sale
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Er.. my use of “second sale” was a joke… but, obviously, not a very good one.
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Well what if I download 10 random tracks off of itunes, then i compile a special mix tape. then i sell it. sure i wasnt involved in creatively making the songs but i creatively compiled them. hrmm….
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Uh, the point of being able to resell it is that you either have the rights to the tune yourself, or you are giving up every copy you made.