The iPod Age is defined by a trick question. If a person buys digital content, do they really own it? So far the answers braved have been “yes and no,” “um, maybe,” “well, sometimes,” and “only if the big money distributors don’t get mad about it.” Not about to take on that question, eBay recently took down a listing for a 60-gigabyte video iPod preloaded with 11,800 songs.
Posted by Cincinnati pediatrician Steve Brin for a starting bid of $799, copied the music from his personal CD library, according to USA Today’s Kevin Maney.
“That is a copyright violation, one that we don’t even need to hear from the rights owner about before removing,” said eBay spokesman Hani Durzy, also referring to eBay’s Replica and Counterfeit Items policy.
Brin argued that he didn’t see a difference in what he did and selling a used CD. Others argue he’s only selling a used iPod without deleting the content.
The issue gets fuzzier when questions pertaining to what he did with the old CDs. He kept them, suggesting there may not have been a problem if he sent the CDs along with the iPod. But that brings up another argument. You have a right to copy the CDs you’ve already purchased, because you own the CD. Are you legally required to trash your copies if you sell the CD?
eBay says the only preloaded iPods allowed to be sold on the auction site are ones where the seller owns the rights to songs on the gadget, or if the iPod came preloaded from the manufacturer.
So it still remains very unclear what limits ownership of music holds, if any. Brin claims to have paid over $100,000 over the years to artists and music companies by buying their CDs-a reasonable price for the rights to it.
Organizations like the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America seem to be on the side of strict interpretation-customers pay for one copy for personal use only, and have no rights to the content thereafter (sometimes to the extent that consumers shouldn’t even be allowed to TiVo something). And recent proposed legislation in the Senate may support that viewpoint.
The greater threat of online piracy has moved distributors and rights holders to guard their money, even on previously tolerated personal copying levels by putting walls around what consumers can do with purchased content.
Ironically (and karmic?), the MPAA has found itself in the throes of a piracy lawsuit after the organization made copies of the submitted motion picture This Film Is Not Yet Rated and distributing them to employees after the filmmaker expressly told them not to make copies of the film. The situation may lead to a loss of credibility for the MPAA as detractors throw pot and kettle accusations their way.
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