Re: Sales of CD's on Ebay

Peter Crosland wrote:

I think that you are absolutely right in asserting that it is unenforceable. Unless the condition is specifically drawn to your attention before you part with your money, it cannot be binding.


Sorry but you are quite wrong. If the CD contains copyright material then the purchaser is bound by normal copyright law. There is not any requirement to agree. As for action being taken that is another matter that is entirely up to the copyright owner.

Normal copyright law does not prevent the legal owner from selling on a book, a music CD, a video or even a set of data on microfiche. Illegal or unauthorised *copies* are prohibited. The 'originals' are the property of the owner and may be passed on by sale or gift.

I own several books which are 'data books' .... original directories, lists of death sentences in the military in WW1, Mark Herber's Clandestine marriages ...etc etc., just naming the first I see on my shelf. Nothing in law prevents me from selling these (I'm not BTW) even tho' the latter two I mentioned are still in copyright and if someone buys them from me second-hand then clearly that affects the sales of new books. The book and music industries accept a thriving legal second-hand market .... my interest here is why the producers of data CDs consider themselves to be in a different class with a different set of rules......

I really had assumed that I would be able to sell some Census CDs that are not copies and in their original boxed condition. In other words I had assumed I owned them. As for being informed otherwise when I bought them .... it was my habit to pick such things up at the SoG Fair .... I handed over money and people handed over the item. It seemed like a straightforward buying experience. I did read the label which said the set was for personal use of the owner but interpreted that to mean I might not copy or make commercial use of it, not that there could only ever be one owner....

As for enforcement ..... in this specific case of selling on Ebay it may be more direct then taking people to court. If a data CD producer complains to Ebay that their copyright is infringed, or any other rights they have granted themselves, it is probable that Ebay will pull the auction, admonish the seller, and refer them to the complainant to resolve their difficulties. Ebay do not, and given the volume, cannot, arbitrate .... but they do act against the seller in such cases.

So I will probably not sell these items on Ebay, which is a source of income to me ..... and where my record is good. But I do wish it were possible to clarify whether these 'rights' are genuine ir simply a means to threaten people into compliance and into not competing even in a small way, with vested commercial interests.

Liz (Greenwich UK)


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