Finally, there is something you can do with all those mp3s you have overplayed and now hate. Or, that singer you once liked that got hooked on drugs and a bad-boy husband, and is consequently not a role model anymore.
Now you can legally sell those mp3s.
For now.
The Ruling
A United States District Judge refused to close Redigi, a second-hand seller of iTunes digital music, in a decision that experts say is a nod to the Exhaustion (better known as first-sale) doctrine.
Basically, the first sale doctrine allows someone who has legally obtained copyrighted material to sell it without recrimination. In this scenario, no new copies are made; ownership is cleanly transferred, and that one copy (in this example) is all that is in circulation.
In the case that precipitated the specific decision, Capitol Records claims Redigi is causing losses by violating copyright. Redigi, who created a unique way to delete the music files off computers of customers before selling the files to new customers, says they were able to ensure that the original purchaser did not have the music, thereby keeping one mp3 file in circulation.
At least in theory.
Loop Holes
Now, the more astute folks will see that there are some holes, so it is not too surprising Capitol is proceeding with the lawsuit, but this ruling seemingly does not bode well for it. In the meantime, get those old iTunes music that you bought commemorating once-sweet relationships from the mid-2000s.
Should consumers be allowed to resell digital material within clear ethical boundaries or is the potential for abuse too high?
Adam Shields says
I really do understand both sides of this. But I come down on the side of the sale. My deciding factor is that preventing the sale will only hurt people that are trying to follow the rules, while allowing the sale most likely won’t really encourage much piracy that is not already occurring.
But I would think it would be hard for this business model to actually succeed. So probably not a real issue in the long term anyway.
The issue would be books, software and other higher price digital items. If you can re-sell digital textbooks then there is real value when they often cost $60-100 a book.
But I think associated with this, is another case of where we need to be talking more about digital ethics as Christians, not just allowing it to be a purely secular (and economic) discussion.
Joanna says
Without DRM, the potential for abuse is too high. It is too easy to copy a non-DRM file onto another computer, a CD or an mp3 player without any record of it happening. I’m sure lots of people would try to sell files they had a copy of elsewhere.The scheme could work on DRMed files but I doubt anyone wants to go back to the days when we had to put up with that.
Tre Lawrence says
Good points…
I also wonder if the business model would work. I respect the innovation, and actually like the entrepreneurial spirit, but I wonder if there is a true market for mp3s that are not that much cheaper than the “original.”
And I FULLY agree: there is a huge ethical question here. There has to be an awareness of how we are called to deal with digital media and copyright concerns.
Williamnt says
Not a good business model. In general resale physical items is cosmetically is not better than the new thus normally have lower in price.
In digital, there’s no degradation in quality after some usage and no warranty you didn’t make copy. No matter how sophisticated the DRM are, it’s only about time before it cracks.
Even as you are honest to delete all copy you have doesn’t mean others will do the same.
Bradley Holt says
Did you buy your car? Can you resell it once you own it? You do that, and you no longer have the car. Dishonest people will keep parts of the car while telling you that they gave you everything. This is the same sort of thing. You payed for the music, so it is your property, not the artists. You don’t go around saying, Dell owns my laptop, or Ford owns my car. It just greed that the music industry is doing this sort of thing. They wonder why piracy is popular, they engage in unfair selling tactics.