http://www.billboard.com/biz/article...resell-digital
Capitol Records has won a victory in U.S. District Court against ReDigi Inc., a company that sought to build a marketplace for consumers to sell their “used” digital songs.
Many in the music and movie business have watched the case closely, as the outcome had the potential to sway billions of dollars in future sales of digital content.
Had the March 30 ruling by Judge Richard J. Sullivan gone the other way, consumers would be able to buy perfect digital copies of “pre-owned” music at a potentially significant discounts from iTunes, Amazon and elsewhere.
ReDigi, for example, priced tracks between 49 cents and 79 cents.
But unlike iTunes sales, where rights holders get 70% of each sale, labels don’t get any of the proceeds from ReDigi sales. (The company claimed it set aside 20% of each sale into an “escrow account” for artists whose works were sold.)
Instead, Sullivan issued a partial summary judgment agreeing with the Universal Music Group label’s arguments that ReDigi infringed on Capitol Records’ copyrights. He dismissed ReDigi’s claims that the “first sale doctrine” that allows consumers to legally resell CDs and DVDs also allowed them to resell digital copies.
The judge concluded that the doctrine did not apply to digital media.
