USA articles related to:
The end of the shrink-wrap license?
Venable LLP - USA -
June 30 2010
Who owns the software running on your computer?
Supreme Court allows pro-Autodesk decision to remain intact in Ninth Circuit
- Scott & Scott LLP
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- USA
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- October 11 2011
On October 3, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court declined a request to grant certiorari in the case of Vernor v. Autodesk, in which the Ninth Circuit found that Autodesk could use copyright law to prevent an eBay user from re-selling its software products via the popular auction site.
Autodesk owns your software
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- September 23 2010
Autodesk owns your software if you (think you) own a copy of AutoCAD, that is.
When is a software license actually a sale? A new district court decision addresses the copyright first sale doctrine and software
- Wiley Rein LLP
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- USA
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- September 5 2008
In Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., the federal district court in Seattle added a new decision to the mix of software-related first sale doctrine cases.
Ninth Circuit rules on software transfers in Vernor v. Autodesk
- Fenwick & West LLP
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- USA
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- October 19 2010
On September 10, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit issued a much-awaited ruling on appeal in Vernor v. Autodesk, No. 09-35969, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 18957, addressing whether software purchasers are owners or licensees of the copies of the software in their possession.
Vernor v. Autodesk: software and the first sale doctrine under copyright law
- Latham & Watkins LLP
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- USA
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- November 5 2010
The old adage that "possession is ninth-tenths of the law" may not be true any longer, at least with respect to software.
Lessons of Vernor v. Autodesk: the importance of good drafting in software licenses
- White & Case LLP
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- USA
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- November 2 2010
In Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a reseller of software that had originally been distributed through a license agreement could not invoke the first sale or essential step defenses to copyright infringement.
Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc
- Loeb & Loeb LLP
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- USA
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- September 15 2010
The Ninth Circuit, reconciling earlier precedent, held that to determine whether a transferee of software is a licensee (and not an owner), a court must consider whether the copyright owner specifies that a user is granted a license; whether the copyright owner significantly restricts the user’s ability to transfer the software; and whether the copyright owner imposes notable use restrictions.
District Court holds software transfer not a license, okays downstream eBay auction under first sale doctrine
- Fenwick & West LLP
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- USA
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- July 15 2008
Rejecting the authority of a trio of more recent Ninth Circuit cases on the ground that their holdings could not be reconciled with an earlier Ninth Circuit decision, a Washington District Court has held a transfer of computer software to represent a sale, not a license.
Recent decision reaffirms software license restrictions
- Sullivan & Worcester LLP
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- USA
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- September 29 2010
For decades, software vendors have allowed customers to obtain and use their computer software programs under contracts known as End User License Agreements ("EULAs").
Resale of computer software on eBay does not infringe copyright
- McCarthy Tétrault LLP
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- USA
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- July 31 2008
An estimated 1.3 million people worldwide make some or all of their living selling goods on eBay, and Timothy Vernor is one of them.
Copyright first sale doctrine does not apply to resale of licensed software
- Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP
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- USA
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- September 28 2010
Generally, when someone purchases a CD containing software, or a DVD containing a video game, they believe they own the item.
Restricting distribution of copyrighted works: a Ninth Circuit hat trick
- Latham & Watkins LLP
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- USA
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- April 19 2011
Marketplaces such as eBay, vintage bookstores, and GameStop flourish at least partly through resale of secondhand copies of copyrighted works.
No sale? No first sale doctrine defense
- McDermott Will & Emery
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- USA
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- October 28 2010
Under the first sale doctrine, a copyright owner has the exclusive right to make and authorize a first sale of copies of his copyrighted work.
Autodesk decision gives software companies tool to prevent resale of licensed software by unauthorized third parties
- Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
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- USA
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- September 16 2010
On September 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Vernor v. Autodesk that the first sale and the essential step doctrines do not apply to purchasers of a copy of software when the software was initially provided under a restrictive license.
Ninth Circuit finds Autodesk software licensed, not sold
- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
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- USA
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- September 28 2010
On September 10, 2010, the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in Vernor v. Autodesk Inc., holding that, where software is transferred pursuant to a license agreement that restricts its use and distribution, the first sale and essential step defenses to copyright infringement do not apply.
Used DVD and video game resales one step closer to extinction
- Haynes and Boone LLP
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- USA
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- January 19 2011
Whether through online auctions or local resale stores, consumers have become used to turning unwanted or unused products into cash or credits for future purchases, as well as purchasing second-hand products at a discount.
Autodesk still owns your software
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- October 21 2011
On October 3, 2011 the U.S. Supreme Court declined a request to grant certiorari in Vernor v. Autodesk.
Ninth Circuit narrows applicability of the "first sale doctrine"
- Hogan Lovells
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- USA
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- October 14 2010
A recent decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) strengthens copyright owners' ability to prevent the resale and further distribution of products subject to copyright protection through narrowing the applicability of the "first sale doctrine."
US court rules non-transferable software "can be resold"
- Shepherd & Wedderburn LLP
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- United Kingdom, USA
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- October 29 2009
Whether you are a computer software developer, user or are buying or selling software licences as part of a wider corporate transaction it may be worth taking note of a recent ruling by a US Court that reaches an interesting conclusion on the nature of computer software ownership.
Ninth Circuit affirms power of software license agreements to restrict resale
- Steptoe & Johnson LLP
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- USA
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- October 2 2010
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held, in Timothy S. Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., that an eBay vendor's resale of used AutoCAD software constituted copyright infringement because the party from which he originally purchased the software was merely a "licensee" rather than an "owner."
Recent federal cases impact end user software license agreements
- Hogan Lovells
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- USA
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- September 9 2008
Two recent federal district court decisions from the 9th Circuit may impact significantly the way in which software manufacturers distribute their copyrighted software.
Recent cases should make software licensors review their distribution methods and license terms (and they may even make us look at open source licenses in a different way)
- Andrews Kurth LLP
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- USA
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- July 21 2011
Three recent copyright cases from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010), UMG Recordings Inc. v. Augusto, 628 F.3d 1175 (9th Cir. 2010) and MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., 629 F.3d 928 (9th Cir. 2011), underscore how methods of distribution and license terms can be mutually reinforcing or, alternatively, mutually destructive.
Update: Blizzard owns your software
- Foley Hoag LLP
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- USA
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- January 10 2011
As expected, the Ninth Circuit has declared link that Blizzard's World of Warcraft (WoW) software licensees are just that -- licensees, and not owners -- because the WoW Terms of Use sufficiently restrict the transfer and use of the WoW software.
Ninth Circuit rules on license versus sale of software
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- September 24 2010
The Register of Copyrights may have concluded that precedents defining the difference between a license and a sale of software are conflicting, but a panel of the Ninth Circuit had no difficulty in resolving the issue in its recent opinion Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS (9th Cir. Sept. 10, 2010).
Second-hand software ok in the EU
- Scott & Scott LLP
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- European Union, USA
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- October 22 2012
A flurry of attention surrounded the recent legal saga of Timothy Vernor and his protracted fight against Autodesk to re-sell software via eBay.
Court refuses to extend trade-mark protection to file extensions
- McCarthy Tétrault LLP
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- Canada, USA
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- May 13 2010
In Autodesk, Inc. v. Dassault Systemès Solidworks Corporation, the US District Court for the Northern District of California recently considered whether computer file extensions are entitled to trade-mark protection.
Ninth Circuit decides that gamers' use of 'bots' is unlikely to constitute copyright infringement, but creator of bot still on hook for circumventing protections
- Reed Smith LLP
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- USA
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- December 23 2010
On December 14, 2010, the Ninth Circuit continued its clarification of copyright law as it relates to the use of software.
Register of copyrights says "who knows?" on ownership of computer program copies
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- August 5 2010
Who owns the firmware on a smartphone, the device manufacturer or the purchaser?
Be wary of audit tools promoted by software auditors
- Scott & Scott LLP
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- USA
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- July 18 2012
Most companies with more than a handful of computers in their IT environments rely on the results of network-inventory tools to gather the deployment data needed for accurate software audits.
Washington court affirms ability to sell software on eBay
- Winston & Strawn LLP
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- USA
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- December 18 2009
A Washington court recently held that an individual who resold packages of software did not commit copyright infringement under the "first-sale doctrine," which allows the owner of a copyrighted work to resell that copy.
Supreme Court inaction a win for software companies
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
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- USA
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- October 5 2011
The Supreme Court has validated the ability of software developers to prevent customers from owning the copy of software they acquire.
Ninth Circuit rules that promotional CDs are owned by recipient, may be sold
- Wiley Rein LLP
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- USA
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- January 12 2011
In a ruling that could have significant implications for companies that distribute copyrighted merchandise for promotional purposes, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that compact discs distributed to music critics and DJs for promotional purposes only are owned by the recipient and may be resold or otherwise transferred without the copyright owner's consent pursuant to the "first sale" doctrine of the Copyright Act and the Unordered Merchandise Statute.
Ninth Circuit rules on license conditions versus contract covenants in dispute over World of Warcraft bots - MDY v. Blizzard, part I
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- January 3 2011
Playing World of Warcraft, the world's most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), can be, well, a drag.
Transfer of packaged software was a license, not a sale, under copyright first sale doctrine
- Proskauer Rose LLP
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- USA
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- January 11 2011
A transaction involving the transfer of packaged software from a developer to a user was a license, not a sale, under the copyright first sale doctrine, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled.
Judge allows sales of “used” MP3 files to continue
- Scott & Scott LLP
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- USA
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- February 22 2012
On February 6, 2012, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that ReDigi an upstart, online marketplace for “used” MP3 files can continue operating pending the outcome of copyright-infringement litigation initiated by Capitol Records.
Don’t buy software twiceensure licenses come from authorized resellers
- Scott & Scott LLP
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- USA
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- July 20 2012
For many small to medium-sized businesses, software license procurement may involve little more than an Internet search for the lowest price.
Apple v. Psystar underscores the strength of software license agreements and the limits of the copyright misuse defense
- Sullivan & Worcester LLP
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- USA
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- October 20 2011
A recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals underscores the importance of distributing software under a carefully drafted software license agreement (“SLA”).
Use of 'bots' in game play questionable under copyright law
- Reed Smith LLP
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- USA
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- January 20 2011
On December 14 2010 the Ninth Circuit continued its clarification of copyright law as it relates to the use of software. In MDY Industries, LLC v Blizzard Entertainment, Inc the court ruled that although gamers' use of 'bots' to manipulate game play violated the user licence in the software, the violation was not so tied to copyright as to destroy the user licence and turn the RAM copies on their computers into infringements.
Could software imports from Europe bypass U.S. first sale and IP exhaustion laws?
- Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
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- European Union, USA
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- July 25 2012
On July 3, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that a sale of a digital copy of software exhausted the copyright owner's exclusive distribution rights to the copy under Europe's first sale doctrine.
Analysing the impact of the Supreme Court's eBay decision
- Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP
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- USA
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- February 26 2008
It has been more than a year since the Supreme Court issued its opinion in MercExchange v eBay.
So you want to sell your program? Tips for starting a new software venture
- Fox Rothschild LLP
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- USA
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- January 11 2012
It is still possible to become a success in the software business.