First sale doctrine
The
first-sale doctrine is an exception to
copyright codified in the US Copyright Act, section 109. The doctrine of first sale allows the purchaser to transfer a particular, legally acquired copy of protected work without permission once it has been obtained. That means the distribution rights of a copyright holder end on that particular copy once the copy is sold.
It is the principle that causes people to find the following example absurd:
- "If you purchase a Ford car, you may not drive it near a Chevy dealer, or trade it for a Chevy, because it was Ford's car."
The doctrine of first sale does not include renting and leasing phonorecords (recorded music) and computer software, although private non-profit archives and libraries are allowed to lend these items provided thay include a notice that the work may be copyrighted on the copy.
As codified in section 117 (
Limitations on exclusive rights: Computer programs) of US copyright law, consumers cannot make copies of computer programs contrary to a license, but may resell what they own.
Cases involving the first sale doctrine
In a unanimous ruling in Quality King Distributors Inc., v. L'anza Research International Inc. (1998, WL 9625) [1] The Supreme Court found that the doctrine does apply to importation into the US of goods which were made in the US, then exported. This is significant for grey market imports of software, clothing and other goods, where the price outside the US may be lower than the price inside. The importation of goods first manufactured outside the US under the copyright laws of other countries was specifically excluded from that decision, leaving US copyright holders free to take action against foreign distributors who sell products made in their region into the US market.
US courts upheld the doctrine of first sale for bundled computer programs in Softman v. Adobe [1] and Novell, Inc. v. CPU Distrib., Inc even if the software contains an End User License Agreement (EULA) prohibiting resale. In this case Softman, after purchasing bundled software from Adobe, unbundled it and then resold the component programs. The courts ruled that consumers can resell bundled software, no matter what the EULA stipulates. Specifically, the ruling decreed that software purchases be treated as sales transactions, rather than explicit license agreements. In other words, consumers should have the same rights they would enjoy under existing copyright legislation when buying a CD or a book.
See also
\n* Copyright infringement
External links
\n*Full text of the Statute\n* Rights of software users\n* NY State court decision punishing Network Associates for restrictive software licensing\n* Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research International, Inc., 1998 WL 96265 syllabus (summary), Court decision written by Justice Stevens, Justice Ginsburg's Concurrence and 1998 B.C. Intell. Prop. & Tech. F. 040801 report of the decision
Category:Copyright lawCategory:United States intellectual property law
