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Autodesk software licensed, not sold – US Court
11 September 2010 , Written by Dhruv Tanwar
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The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals has found in favor of Autodesk and has reversed an earlier ruling by a lower court that had allowed the plaintiff, Timothy Vernor, to resell Autodesk's computer-aided design (CAD) software on eBay. 


The Court's decision favors the concept that the software was licensed to a user - and not sold - and therefore licenses may not be transferred without Autodesk's consent as federal copyright law does not permit resales by individuals. 


Greg Beck, an attorney for Public Citizen, the firm that represented Vernor, said that he would seek review by a larger Ninth Circuit panel. He said that under this decision, it was evident that people did not own most software, while Autodesk spokesman Greg Eden said his company was pleased with the decision, which favors “the long-standing industry practice permitting the licensing of software copies to users."


Reports in the media hinted at the decision's significant ramifications for publishers of software, music labels, book publishers and the larger motion picture industry, which may now seek to adopt terminology similar to that used by the software company in this case that “licensed” and not “sold” the software. Potentially, the court's decision could allow for the circumvention of a 102-year old “first sale” doctrine that allows a buyer to resell or rent a product after the initial sale, as long as copies are not made. This doctrine forms the bed rock of business such as movie renting services Netflix and Blockbuster, used book stores and used record stores worldwide.
 

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