Re: Utterly imbecile pinky communist Ninth Circuit 'judges' (Vernor scandalous ruling)

[Alexander Terekhov]

http://www.fragland.net/news/Second-hand-market-in-US-in-jeopardy/24120/

"Second hand market in US in jeopardy?

Posted on Tuesday, 14 September 2010 by Speed, source: Gamasutra

Get your second hand games while you still can!

Game publishers have been trying very hard to fight the used games
market lately with all kinds of extras for those that buy games new, and
less joyful initiatives that are aimed at making it impossible for you
to sell your copy. Still, until today there were no "legal" reasons why
you wouldn't be able to sell a game you bought. Until today.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit made a ruling last week,
stating that when software is "merely licensed", users are not allowed
to sell it:

The ruling aims to distinguish between when a piece of software is sold
and when it is merely licensed, with the user potentially unable to
resell if it's the latter. The judge presiding over the case said: "We
hold today that a software user is a licensee rather than an owner of a
copy where the copyright owner (1) specifies that the user is granted a
license; (2) significantly restricts the user’s ability to transfer the
software; and (3) imposes notable use restrictions."

The ruling was made in the case between Autodesk (makers of AutoCAD) and
user Timothy Vernor who tried to sell a copy of AutoCAD on ebay after he
had bought it at an architect's office sale.

Currently many game publishers, like Electronic Arts, have a EULA in
which is clearly stated that the software is "licensed" to you, not
sold.

Results of this ruling could be that the entire market of second hand
games & software can become illegal overnight in the US while even
libraries could be fined for loaning out digital media without having to
pay an additional (higher) licensing fee.

The court also stated the following:

"congress is free... to modify the first sale doctrine and the essential
step defense if it deems these or other policy considerations to require
a different approach."

Like that's gonna happen anytime soon...

Next week: BMW states you're not allowed to resell your car as they've
got the intellectual property over the design.

Next month: Book publishers make it illegal to resell or loan books to
others as they represent the writers who've got intellectual property
over the stories.

Sound silly? Not more than the ruling of the Court of Appeals if you ask
me."

regards,
alexander.

-- 
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too, whereas GNU cannot.)