Public interest coalition takes on Autodesk
Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music aren’t the only ones claiming when you buy something, you don’t actually buy it; you only license it.
Autodesk suffers under the same delusion.
A coalition of public interest, consumer, and library groups is urging a federal appeals court Thursday to preserve consumers’ rights and the first sale doctrine in a battle over an internet auction of used computer software, says the EFF.
Online software reseller Timothy Vernor tried to auction four packages of Autodesk AutoCAD software on eBay, it says, going on:
“Autodesk threatened Mr. Vernor with a copyright lawsuit, claiming that its software is only ‘licensed,’ never sold.
“With the assistance of the public interest litigators at Public Citizen, Vernor filed suit in Seattle against Autodesk, asking the court to clarify his right to resell the AutoCAD software packages. He prevailed before the district court in 2009, prompting Autodesk to appeal.”
Autodesk can’t trump the first sale doctrine with a “license agreement” included with its software, says an amicus curiae brief lodged with the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit by the American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, Association of College and Research Libraries, Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Knowledge and US Public Interest Research Group.
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