Yesterday, Judge S. James Otero of the United States District Court for the Central District of California issued an opinion granting summary judgment for the defendant in UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Augusto. Judge Otero ruled that, because ownership of “promo CDs” given out by UMG had transferred to the recipients of those CDs, Augusto’s resale of those CDs on eBay did not infringe UMG’s copyrights. Here’s the EFF press release on the decision, and here’s Fred von Lohmann’s post on the decision from the EFF Deep Links blog.
The fight may not be over; UMG has 30 days to appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. But at least for now, the first sale doctrine means what it says: if a person owns a copy of a copyrighted work, it’s not copyright infringement to sell that copy, regardless of any scary language the copyright holder places on the label.
I’m proud to say that I was part of the team that achieved this victory for consumers’ first sale rights. Our success in this case was made possible by the resources committed to the case on a pro bono basis by the law firm I work for, Keker & Van Nest — most significantly, the commitment of my time, that of partner Mike Page, that of my fellow associate JuNelle Harris, and that of paralegal David Montano.
The work of Electronic Frontier Foundation attorneys Fred von Lohmann and Corynne McSherry was likewise indispensable. Fred was instrumental in the drafting and editing of our briefs, and accompanied me to each of the depositions in the case, providing indispensable advice. Corynne brought her deep knowledge of the DMCA’s anti-misrepresentation provisions and provided essential advice during our preparations for trial, which were running full-steam until yesterday’s ruling.
If you want to see more of these sort of victories for consumer rights online, consider making a donation to the EFF.
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