
Judge rules against Autodesk in eBay software case - dreemteem
http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/government-law/legislation/news/index.cfm?newsid=16946
======
btilly
The funny thing is that the whole, "We've not really sold it to you, you're
infringing our copyright if you share it" argument was fought and lost ages
ago by book publishers that didn't like having library lending competing with
their sales. The subject was well litigated and there is lots of precedence.

I've always been puzzled that the software industry has gotten away with the
same line of argument for so long.

~~~
biohacker42
Then there's the fact that damn near every economist will tell you that a
vibrant after market increases the value of first time sales. Heck, that's
self evident, when you know something keeps a good chuck of it's value, you
feel more confident buying it new. But software publishers never let common
sense get in the way.

~~~
sachinag
I believe this, but I've never found articles that discuss it. Do you have a
few example cites? Thanks!

~~~
biohacker42
I remember reading it somewhere, the economist maybe, but google fails me.

------
sachinag
Huge, huge news - this may be the decision that helps us get first sale
doctrine rights for DLC.

~~~
uiohnuipb
Will either be overturned on appeal or they will introduce some clause into
the Eula saying you agree not to sell them.

IIRC someone (the same guy?) got away with it before with ACad - but in that
case the boxes were unopened so had never been licensed.

There was a similair case with MS in the UK. The receivers for a bankrupt
company tried to sell their software licenses as assets of the company but
were stopped by MS. There was a big deal about it because it changes how
companies could write down software purchases in their accounts.

~~~
sachinag
That's the beauty of EULAs in the US: if there's a clause in there that's
unconscionable or illegal, even if you agree, it's not enforceable. We already
have a well-established first sale doctrine in the States. I could see - but I
wouldn't guarantee - that a court could find it unconscionable that a EULA
wrapper that prohibits aftermarket sales is unenforceable given that it
wouldn't apply to the same/similar content distributed in another medium.

~~~
boredguy8
That _clause_ is unenforceable, but not necessarily the entire contract.

~~~
weaksauce
True. Most contracts will have a severability clause in the end of the
contract which will effectively make each part of the contract stand on it's
own. I am not sure if contracts without this clause are assumed severable by
law like how copyright is granted after a piece of work is created but you
have a stronger case if you actually put a copyright symbol on the work.

------
drubio
"Autodesk argued that if the judge decided that people own its software,
prices will rise for end users." That's a software economics argument I had
never seen. Unfortunate they don't elaborate on the foundations.

~~~
param
I took this to mean that Autodesk anticipated a decline in its own sales if an
after market was allowed; and hence would need to raise prices to stay on
track for revenue.

Of course, the customers would just buy second hand s/w - which is where the
argument breaks down

~~~
uiohnuipb
Good job Detroit never thought of this!

------
oliveoil
hah, how about a service that would sell all your licenses when you are
switching a computer off and buying all of them again when turning it on
again. companies that work in different timezones could save fortunes.

------
Keyframe
Just one more thing to push Autodesk's twitch -
<http://labs.autodesk.com/technologies/trials/> ... something Autodesk has
been flirting with for about 10 years now. Before you could rent software from
authorized dealers, not it's coming online. Nobody would be happier than
Autodesk to have their lineup in SaaS.

