Copyright Law

EFF beats UMG in Augusto case; resale of promo CD's on eBay is NOT a copyright infringement

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

It's not on topic for this blog, but I thought my readers would be interested in another type of record company overreaching being shot down, the spurious claim that they could use the copyright laws to prevent an eBay seller from selling promo CD's because they had a sticker that they could not be resold. Defendant was represented by the vigilant Electronic Frontier Foundation, which argued that the "first sale doctrine" barred UMG's case. The judge agreed, and threw the case out.

The judge was Hon. S. James Otero, the same judge who rendered the excellent decisions in RIAA cases Elektra v. O'Brien and SONY BMG v. Does 1-5.

Here's a segment from EFF's report:

June 11th, 2008

Judge Shoots Down Universal's Bogus Infringement Allegations
Ruling Affirms Right to Resell Promo CDs

San Francisco - A federal judge has shot down bogus copyright infringement allegations from Universal Music Group (UMG), affirming an eBay seller's right to resell promotional CDs that he buys from secondhand stores.

Troy Augusto, represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and law firm Keker & Van Nest, was sued by UMG last year in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for 26 auction listings involving promo CDs. At issue was whether the "promotional use only, not for sale" labels on those CDs could trump Augusto's right to resell materials that he owns, guaranteed by copyright law's "first sale" doctrine.

In dismissing UMG's lawsuit late Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero ruled that the promo CDs are gifts distributed by UMG, as they are mailed free and unsolicited to thousands of people without any expectation or intention of their return. The first sale doctrine says that once the copyright owner sells or gives away a copy of a CD, DVD, or book, the recipient is entitled to resell that copy without further permission.

Keywords: digital copyright law online internet law legal download upload peer to peer p2p file sharing filesharing music movies indie independent label freeculture creative commons pop/rock artists riaa independent mp3 cd favorite songs intellectual property

Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on June 12, 2008 (boomark / email).