eBaying software

[IvorW]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Andy Wardley [mailto:abw at wardley.org]
> Sent: 25 July 2006 10:38
> To: London.pm Perl M[ou]ngers
> Subject: Re: eBaying software
> 
> 
> 
> Pete Sergeant wrote:
> > I bought a copy of Adobe Acrobat recently, that it turns out I don't
> > need. I bought it from the Apple store in Chicago, so 
> returning it is a
> > little hard. Can I legally eBay this? Any ideas?
> 
> Yes.  It's legally yours to transfer through gift or sale.  If you're 
> interested in the detail, then read this:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine
> 
> It's quite likely that Adobe's shrink-wrap license says that you have 
> "licensed" the software from them, not "bought" it.  It may 
> even go on 
> to say that as a result this license is non-transferable 
> (i.e. you can't 
> sell it).
> 
> However, this is nonsense.
> 
> They cannot affect your statutory rights which are quite 
> clear (in this 
> country) about first sale.  As long as you have the original 
> media of a 
> full retail version (i.e. not an education or other 
> discounted version) 
> then its yours to sell.  There's nothing Adobe can write on 
> the label of 
> the box to change that.
> 
> IANAL of course.
> 
What a mess! Seems like it depends on which state and which juristiction. 

I wonder what the UK position is. We have the Sale of Goods Act, and our copyright laws are different from those in the US.

http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/stat/S/96410_01.htm

IANAL ditto.

Ivor.