

Selling "Used" MP3's - yarone

Can I legally sell "used" MP3's?  Or, more generally, can I resell the digital goods that I buy online?<p>Could I create a marketplace for used digital goods?  It would facilitate the buying and the selling and "ensure" (to the greatest extent possible) that the seller's copies are destroyed.<p>I read about a company called Bopaboo (used MP3's) but I'm not quite sure what happened to them.<p>I think a legal discussion might involve the "first sale doctrine".
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bdfh42
In theory, the development of some notional (and effective) Digital Rights
Management software widget would enable a situation where each purchased copy
of an MP3 could be considered a distinct object in it's own right. This could,
in turn, re-enable the "first sale" doctrinal concept - the seller would
relinquish the object to it's new owner cleanly and without any "residue".

However I suspect that if ever such a magical DRM widget were created it would
be applied by music publishers in a way that would suppress any such free
market.

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mr_eel
I would think that the first sale doctrine doesn't apply here. Purchasing
digital goods is more akin to licensing rather than the purchase of a physical
good — which implies complete ownership and the right of resale.

Your question could be quickly answered by looking at the licensing terms in
digital-shops. I'm pretty sure most would forbid resale.

The question is; are these licenses enforceable and can you actually argue the
first sale doctrine.

My gut feeling is no.

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yarone
I too believe that as the world-at-large transitions to digital goods,
traditions around ownership will persist. Folks will just assume that since
they bought it, they own it and can resell it.

