EFF Fights for First Sale

Filed in archive Consumer Rights , Legal , Major Labels on August 14, 2007

The "first sale" doctrine is simple. You buy it. You own it. You can do whatever you like with it.

In the digital world that's not so obvious. Record companies, software developers, and other content distributors license content. They don't sell it. And "it" isn't an open portable product. They add identification and watermarks to digital files. They encrypt and lock the content.

But in the real world it's straightforward. Or so you thought.

Universal Music Group sued roast Beast Music for auctioning CDs on eBay, CDs legitimately purchased from used record stores. Universal claims stamping CDs with "promotional use only, not for resale" makes second party sales illegal. If that's true, any product manufacturer could similarly add that tag to their product to prevent resale.

The EFF has stepped in to ensure the first sale doctrine remains untarnished.