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Gamestop, First Sale Doctrine, and EULAs
giblfiz
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So a new ruling just came down: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/the-end-of-used-major-ruling-upholds-tough-software-licenses.ars
The short version is that the 9th circuit appeals court just ruled that if your software came with an EULA that says you can't resell it, then you can't resell it. I know there is a lot of interest in the economic realities of used games on this forum and this seems like an ultra-relevant article. Based on this ruling all it would take to completely destroy gamestop would be for a few of the major publishers to start forbidding resale in the EULA that ship with their games, oh and to actually sue gamestop in the case of the EULA being ignored.
Personally I can't help but feel that this is a negative development for consumer rights, but then I am one of those open-source-copyleft hippies.
The short version is that the 9th circuit appeals court just ruled that if your software came with an EULA that says you can't resell it, then you can't resell it. I know there is a lot of interest in the economic realities of used games on this forum and this seems like an ultra-relevant article. Based on this ruling all it would take to completely destroy gamestop would be for a few of the major publishers to start forbidding resale in the EULA that ship with their games, oh and to actually sue gamestop in the case of the EULA being ignored.
Personally I can't help but feel that this is a negative development for consumer rights, but then I am one of those open-source-copyleft hippies.
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But wow, that means even on the individual level, you can't put your old stuff on Ebay or Amazon.
I frankly don't see this being possible. Everyone would start making their customers sign EULAs.
And the link works for me.
ACD (the resellers in question) bought copies of AutoCAD from Autodesk, then paid for upgrade licenses for those copies.
As part of the upgrade, ACD was contractually bound to destroy the old copies. They didn't: instead they sold them to a third party who proceeded to sell them to others themselves.
The ruling only applies to ACD, and not the parties following it. Their acts of reselling aren't illegal, but ACDs was, and therefore the illegal goods must be dealt with properly (in this case, by destruction as in the original contract.)
The PDF of the ruling. As said, not what the OP thinks it's about.
Groklaw: http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=201009101658045
Many people and interest groups are screaming blue, bloody murder at the decision, precisely because it will inevitably mean that everything (software, music, films, books, etc) has a shrinkwrap-style EULA attached.
EDIT: On reading the judgement (I hadn't yet, only skimmed the coverage) it looks like Rivs has the right of it.
No.
Edit: To be in the clear, the decision is retarded, but the implications are overblown.