You no longer own your software

[nojh]

Slashdot article on a court ruling involving attempting to re-sell some unused autodesk software.

Okay the title is a little dramatic. But that is the effective ruling by this above court. Software that is licensed by the software creator is no longer beholden to the first sale doctrine which means that you don't have the right to sell your used

Comments

[mothoc]

Now this only applies to licensed software. I freely admit I'm not sure where the distinction lies. I know operating systems and a lot of high end professional software sell you licenses rather than the software.

This line was distinctly drawn by the reviewing court. To quote an article from http://www.siia.net/blog/index.php/2010/09/software-industry-scores-major-victory-in-vernor-v-autodesk-case-ninth-circuit-clarifies-that-ebay-software-auctions-were-illegal/ there is this section.

Instead the court specified a new test (or perhaps, more accurately, clarifying its existing test) for determining whether a transaction is a license or a sale for purpose of determining the applicability of the first sale doctrine under section 109 and the essential copying doctrine under section 117 of the Copyright Act. This test provides that “a