Resale of MP3s ruled legal

[mc ukrneal]

Just saw this interesting decision: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/court-rules-legal-sell-used-mp3s-224527829.html. Judge ruled that selling MP3 files you downloaded is legal (although the caveat is that the seller deleted the file and thus no longer had access to it). I wonder if this will the change the current model much or not - probaby not I'd guess (unless there is a huge uptick in buying 'used' MP3s).

[Lethevich]

Unfortunately, if this sees widespread recognition, it could see the re-emergence of DRM (to maintain that "single sellable copy"), a scourge which was fortunately removed from legal music files from most sources long ago.

Whether a law blocking that is rushed in or not, I can't see reselling working. There wouldn't be an effective way to prove you bought or pirated the music in question, and pirates will immediately try to monetise the situation, causing the market to not be worth bothering with for most people due to ultra low prices and bad reputation.

The lack of ability to re-sell digital media should be compensated for by lower prices, not by a second-hand market, but until bricks and mortar retailers die out a little more, they will still keep digital copies of some products artificially highly priced.

[nesf]

It's very tricky to prove someone has actually deleted all copies of the mp3 and doesn't have it on some flash disc somewhere. I just read this as effectively legitimising piracy unless DRM comes back (boo hiss!). Never mind the current minefield of buy a CD, rip it, resell the CD that goes on.

[DavidW]

This will have a profound impact on all digital media in the years to come.

But I agree with Lethe, while being cool doesn't make any sense.  Also I thought that most digital media and software did NOT have first sale doctrine as the license to use is being sold not the product itself.  And there are court cases that back that stance up too.  Including one case involving someone who sold NEW software which went all the way up to the Supreme Court.

[KeithW]

There was an interesting piece in the New York Times a few weeks ago about people wrestling with how to bequeath their digital 'stuff'.  In a CD era it was easy to leave your collection of discs to someone, but less so in the digital environment where access might be tied to your personal account - say a stash of Kindle books.

Lawyers see the opportunity to make vast riches helping people prepare their digital estates.

The CD ripping and resell issue is quite straightforward.  In some jurisdictions copyright law actually precludes this altogether; in others format shifting is permitted for personal use or for backup purposes.  But I am not aware of any country where the copyright law allows you to rip a CD, retain the files and sell the CD.  Where ripping is permitted, it is quite clear that the ripped files must be destroyed before ownership of the original is transferred (in other words, you can't even give the CD away and keep a copy).  I'm not saying that this is how it works in practice, but it is the legal position.

[nesf]

The CD ripping and resell issue is quite straightforward.  In some jurisdictions copyright law actually precludes this altogether; in others format shifting is permitted for personal use or for backup purposes.  But I am not aware of any country where the copyright law allows you to rip a CD, retain the files and sell the CD.  Where ripping is permitted, it is quite clear that the ripped files must be destroyed before ownership of the original is transferred (in other words, you can't even give the CD away and keep a copy).  I'm not saying that this is how it works in practice, but it is the legal position.

Oh the legal position is very clear, at least in the EU, but the practicalities of policing it are a nightmare and I sincerely doubt anyone would kick up a legal fuss about it if it was happening on a small scale. Similar to school kids chipping in to buy a CD that they all then rip a copy of, yes it's probably illegal but does anyone really care enough to do something about it? If reselling mp3s becomes widely legal there'll be a similar problem with people doing it on a small scale (i.e. not reselling the same mp3 many, many times) to part fund their music buying, or more nefariously (in my opinion) make money off pirated downloads. I can see enterprising teenagers engaging in it quite a bit to be honest.

Though I'm really unsure about the morality/legality of things like lending a CD to a friend for a few weeks while still listening to the mp3s from it on your iPod.

[KeithW]

Oh the legal position is very clear, at least in the EU, but the practicalities of policing it are a nightmare and I sincerely doubt anyone would kick up a legal fuss about it if it was happening on a small scale. Similar to school kids chipping in to buy a CD that they all then rip a copy of, yes it's probably illegal but does anyone really care enough to do something about it? If reselling mp3s becomes widely legal there'll be a similar problem with people doing it on a small scale (i.e. not reselling the same mp3 many, many times) to part fund their music buying, or more nefariously (in my opinion) make money off pirated downloads. I can see enterprising teenagers engaging in it quite a bit to be honest.

Though I'm really unsure about the morality/legality of things like lending a CD to a friend for a few weeks while still listening to the mp3s from it on your iPod.

Spot on!  Things may have evolved, but at one time it was a breach of UK copyright law to video record a TV show and keep the recording for more than 30 days. I never heard of any prosecution and it would have been difficult to demonstrate loss as part of a civil suit.