eBay seller sued & banned for reselling software CDs

[Sporkman]

Autodesk, eBay seller suit could impact sales of secondhand software

DMCA ignites questions over copyright of old software CDs

By Nancy Gohring ShareThis

A judge Tuesday heard arguments in a dispute over software sales that could potentially have repercussions on the secondhand sale of virtually any copyright material.

The suit was filed by Timothy Vernor, a seller on eBay, after Autodesk, citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, asked eBay to remove some of its software products that Vernor had listed for sale there, and later to ban him from the site.

Vernor had not illegally copied the software but was selling legitimate CDs of the products secondhand. For that reason, he argued, he was not infringing Autodesk's copyright.

Autodesk countered that because it licences the software, rather than selling it outright, a licensee does not have the right to resell its products...

http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/government-law/legislation/news/index.cfm?newsid=16847

[starcannon]

Very old news. The case was decided;
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2008/05/court-smacks-autodesk-affirms-right-to-sell-used-software.ars

Autodesk lost the case, unfortunately they didn't seem to lose their patrons.

[earthpigg]

Autodesk countered that because it licences the software, rather than selling it outright, a licensee does not have the right to resell its products...

then by Autodesk's very own logic, him selling the physical CDs is irrelevant. the license remains for the reseller, regardless of who has physical possession of the trivial box and the non-license-granting install CDs.

purchasers of those CDs will still need to talk to Autodesk for a license.

whether those purchasers do or do not is between Autodesk and those purchasers.

[cdekter]

So by their argument, the license of even outdated software is a commodity that still has value... does that mean I can return the software and expect a refund?

I really don't see what the problem is anyway, once you sell the software to someone else, you no longer have access to it. Making the license non-transferable is an artificial limitation intended to increase their profits. Remember, it's only illegal if you get caught.