buying promo cd's illegal? give me a break!

[BeautifulBurnout]

Originally Posted by Lx_Nen

He should have written 'not for suing' on his forehead. The record companies would then have to prove that their dubious scribbling was legal and his wasn't.

If the record company somehow does set a legal precedent that it's illegal to throw away unsolicited gifts if they have magic words written on them, I can imagine certain execs and lawyers might very quickly discover their houses full to the brim with promotional samples of manure that they can't legally dispose of.

In order to do this, the record industry would have to show why they deserved to be set apart as a "special case" in law, outside any other wholesale distributor or manufacturer, and that the doctrine of first sale doesn't apply to them. Alternately, they have to convince the court that the promos they send out are merely lent to the people receiving them. But as, it seems, not only are the promos unsolicited, but, further, there is nothing accompanying said promos to indicate that they must be returned to the company after use - no s.a.e.'s, no instructions about how to return them - they are on a sticky wicket with that one, imo.

I think they are on a hiding to nothing, but record companies appear to have bottomless pockets for this kind of case, and prolly thought the guy would cave in the same way he seems to have done on the last occasion. What they evidently did not take into account when embarking on this frolic was that the EFF might take an interest and fund his case.

I will be watching the outcome of this one very closely.

[potatobroth]

Originally Posted by negative1

...if they don't , it could
mean that every free cd, or item in the mail has to be
returned, or you have to pay for it, even if you didn't
want it etc.

you can't honestly believe this.

[Dirty0900]

I currently have 4 promo albums i have reviewed. All marked as promos, i aint had a note shoved in to return them.

In that case, how are nightclubs still legal? Records say they are not to be broadcast in public places etc, which is what happening in clubz.

[negative1]

good, it's about time (although it will probably be appealed)...

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/28713


Judge rejects music industry's promo CD copyright claim

In a major pushback against music industry efforts to expand copyright control at the expense of consumers, a California judge has ruled that recipients of promotional CDs are free to do with them as they please. In other words, what would seem obvious to the layman, in this case also happens to be the law.

However, during a long-running legal battle that shut down an eBay seller, Universal Music Group had argued that it retained licensing rights and could prohibit such resale despite the fact that its promo CDs are distributed willy-nilly to thousands of music industry insiders who neither ask for them nor are not expected to return them.

Tuesday's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero is meaningful not merely because it protects an income stream for CD resellers, says the Electronic Frontier Foundation, but primarily because it affirms the so-called "first sale" doctrine.

....

The bottom line from the judge:

"The promo CDs are unordered merchandise," Otero writes in his order (PDF). " ... By
sending the promo CDs to music industry insiders, UMG transferred title to those
insiders and the promo CDs are subject to the First Sale Doctrine."

Read more at the link..

later
-1

[TheBang]

Cool, thanks for the follow-up -1.

And yay for the upholding of First Sale Doctrine. It preserves so many rights that we all take for granted regarding copyrighted media.