Most of us take resale rights for granted.īut that right to resell copyrighted items had been challenged in court. The resale right applies only to the physical item sold, not copies. That’s why you can legally hold a yard sale or sell computers on eBay. After that, the buyer can do whatever he or she wants with it - sell it again, donate it, whatever.
Here in the States we have something called the “first sale doctrine.” It simply means that once a tangible copyrighted work (or something with copyright in it) is sold lawfully the first time, the original copyright owner no longer has rights over the physical item. Bought a book and no longer need it? You sell that, too. After all, hasn’t that always been true? You own an iPad and want to get a new tablet instead? Just sell the old iPad or donate it or recycle it - because it’s yours and you can do what you want with it.
Now - you might be wondering what’s so earth shattering about that. This past week the United States Supreme Court decided a case that reinforced the right to re-sell something that you had lawfully bought.
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