In a move that could have a have a significant impact on the used software market, a US federal appeals court has backed software maker Autodesk’s attempts to combat second hand sales of its products covered by widely used licensing agreements. The ruling was made in a case covering computer software sales on eBay by defendant Timothy Vernor, who had bought unopened copies of Autodesk’s AutoCAD software at garage and office sales and then sold them on online without ever agreeing to the licensing agreement imposed on the original buyer, the Associated Press reports.
While the US Supreme Court’s 102-year-old "first-sale" doctrine says that copyright holders can't prevent consumers from reselling or renting a product after an initial sale, the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a 2008 decision affirming Vernor's right to sell the used software, ruling that Autodesk’s contract made it clear that the rights to install its programs were being licensed rather than sold.
Numerous software programs are covered by licensing agreements that use similar language to Autodesk's, and the ruling has raised the possibility that game publishers, music labels and movie studios will attempt to come up with their own licensing agreements to restrict second hand sales of their products. As noted by Gamasutra, Electronic Arts' standard end user license agreement reads: “This Software is licensed to you, not sold.”
Vernor's attorney, Gregory Beck of Public Citizen, told the AP that the ruling “means the infrastructure already is in place for other software makers to say their customers don't really own those programs". He said he will seek a review of the court’s decision before considering an appeal to the US Supreme Court.
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Been saying this for years and no one believed me, it's something they have always had in their back pockets but have never used due to the public's reaction, the law is the same here and in theory they could seek to stop the sale of second hand games or control it by licence Greedy bastards
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