Quote:
Originally Posted by Jellby
I'm not American, and I'm not a lawyer (thanks goodness), but I believe you can still find software licenses where you actually buy some (time-limited or not) access to online material, and not the material itself.
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As long as it's made clear that there is a time-limit, then it would count as a license. That's not how eBooks are currently being sold though.
What US courts have said is that if there is no expectation by the customer that the product will need to be returned, then it is a sale. I assume a time limited access would count has having to "return" the eBook, which would make it a license.
So, if you went to Fictionwise/Amazon/etc and they advertised they were selling you access to an eBook for 6 months, after which the DRM would expire, then you likely won't be able to resell the used eBook. That would be a significant change from the model they are currently selling eBooks under though.