promo cd

There was a big win for copyright and the concept of the first sale doctrine today, as a court has ruled that record labels cannot stop the sale of a promo CD just because it's stamped with a message that says "not for resale." We had discussed this case last summer, when it was first filed.

Universal Music was trying to prevent a guy selling promo CDs on eBay. He had bought them at various music stores.

Last summer, the EFF sued Universal Music Group, after UMG had eBay takedown the sales of certain CDs.

The CDs were promotional CDs, purchased legitimately by a guy going to LA record stores. However, UMG claimed that the CDs, as promotional items, were still the property of Universal Music Group.

The EFF charged that UMG was abusing the law, specifically by ignoring the right of first sale, which is enshrined in copyright law allowing you to resell CDs or other works that contain copyrighted material.