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EFF Wins Promo CD Resale Case

Posted by Soulskill on from the this-promo-disc-will-self-destruct-in-five-seconds dept.

DJMajah writes "Universal Music Group's case against Troy Augusto, fought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has been dismissed by a federal judge. UMG sued Augusto, the owner of Roast Beast Music, over 26 eBay listings of promotional CDs. UMG argued that promo CDs distributed for free to radio stations, DJs and other industry insiders could not be resold; the discs usually carry a label reading 'For promotional use only, not for resale.' UMG asserted the doctrine of first sale does not apply, as the discs were not actually sold and therefore remained UMG's property. The judge ruled that the doctrine does apply because the discs were gifts. The labels indicate no expectation of their return."

3 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. Re:The EFF sure taught the industry a lesson! by SpiderClan · · Score: -1, Redundant

    I didn't read the article, but the last line of the summary implies the judge disagrees with you.

    "The labels indicate no expectation of their return."

  2. Re:ok, this one's idiotic for a change by holophrastic · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Wow, you did a great job of re-iterate what five people before you have already written, and without reading my replies to them. You've also said that if Dell sends you an unsolicited brochure, that you can sell their logo for profit, or use it in your own ads.

    Instead of telling you what I think, I'll let you make another attempt at reading my replies to others. Maybe then you can contribute something significant to the collaboration, instead of thinking that you're alone in a fight.

    Keep reading until you see the letters "GPL", the word "ship" and the term "time-trial".

  3. Re:The EFF sure taught the industry a lesson! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Redundant

    The statute is designed to combat exactly this sort of scam: a company sends you something you didn't ask for, then imposes conditions on your ownership of it (like saying you can't sell it, or saying you have to pay for it).

    These scams are surprisingly in play today.

    1. Call large Company X, and ask for a manager.
    2. Get the manager's name while you are talking to him (complaint, praising an employee, etc)
    3. Ship a box o' cheap crap they might concievably use (say, florescent light ballasts)
    4. Send invoice t head office requesting payment at inflated rates, claiming manager from (2) ordered the product from a charity (explaining high prices)
    5. Profit!!

    Wait, I forgot something...

    4.5 ???