Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but is it not the case that only one court - the 9th circuit court - has made this ruling, and that this particular court has a reputation for making "oddball" decisions which are subsequently overturned by higher courts?
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While it is true that the courts are still sorting this stuff out, there was always the case of a publisher attempting to place additional restrictions in the fine print of his book (effectively adding a license) in
Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus (a U.S. Supreme Court decision).
There is also the doctrine of first sale.
The argument that makes software and electronic media so tricky is the concern that the original owner retains a copy and thus violates copyright. In effect, the publishers are arguing that it is so easy to make a copy (or, conversely, so difficult to completely remove all copies) that the original ruling should be modified.