ReDigi ruling means no used ebook market [in my opinion]

The finding of the Federal Court [CAPITOL RECORDS,LLC, VERSUS REDIGI 
INC.,- MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

March 30, 2013 - 
http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1334&context=historical 
] do, in my opinion, have adirect bearing on the issue of digital copies 
of books offered for used sale. Any attempt to run a used ebook market 
would, according to my reasoning, fail in court.

"ReDigi's business is built on the erroneous notion that the first sale 
defense permits the electronic resale of digital music".

"Thus, the plain text of the Copyright Act makes clear that reproduction 
occurs when a copyrighted work is fixed in a new material object. [See 
Matthew Bender & Co., Inc. v. W. Pub. Co., 158 F.3d 693, 703 (2d Cir. 
1998).]

"[t]he copyrightable work comprises the aggregation of sounds and not 
the tangible medium of fixation. Thus, 'sound recordings' as 
copyrightable subject matter are distinguished from 'phonorecords[,]' 
the latter being physical objects in which sounds are fixed." [H.R. Rep. 
No. 94-1476, at 56 (1976). ]

"... in London-Sire Records, Inc. v. John Doe 1, the court addressed 
whether users of P2P software violated copyright owners' distribution 
rights. 542 F. Supp. 2d 153, 166 & n.16 (D. Mass. 2008). Citing the 
"material object" requirement, the court expressly differentiated 
between the copyrighted work -- or digital music file -- and the 
phonorecord -- or "appropriate segment of the hard disk" that the file 
would be embodied in..."

""Accordingly, when a user downloads a digital music file or "digital 
sequence" to his "hard disk," the file is "reproduce[d]" on a new 
phonorecord within the meaning of the Copyright Act. Id "

"This understanding is, of course, confirmed by the laws of physics. It 
is simply impossible that the same "material object" can be transferred 
over the Internet. Thus, logically, the court in London-Sire noted that 
the Internet transfer of a file results in a material object being 
"created elsewhere at its finish." Id. at 173. Because the reproduction 
right is necessarily implicated when a copyrighted work is embodied in a 
new material object, and because digital music files must be embodied in 
a new material object following their transfer over the Internet, the 
Court determines that the embodiment of a digital music file on a new 
hard disk is a reproduction within the meaning of the Copyright Act."

I couldn't (and haven't) said it better myself. My conclusion is that 
the same logic applies to ebook files as to music files. The 
determination is 17 pages, and worth the read.

Joseph Harris



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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