Online Market for Pre-Owned Digital Music Hangs in the Balance

The future of a one-of-a-kind website enabling the online sale of pre-owned digital-music files is in the hands of a federal judge. ReDigi , which opened in October, provides account holders with a platform to buy and sell used MP3s that were purchased lawfully through iTunes. The platform’s technology does not support other music. Among other points, the case weighs the so-called first-sale doctrine, the legal theory that people in lawful possession of copyright material have the right to sell it. A federal judge sided with that principle in 2008, when it debunked UMG Recordings’ claim that it retained perpetual ownership of promotional CDs it releases before an album’s debut. Last year, however, a different court ruled against now-defunct online service Zediva , which streamed movies to customers via DVDs that Zediva had purchased. In the ReDigi case, Capital Records sued the Massachusetts-based startup last month in New York federal court.

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Online Market for Pre-Owned Digital Music Hangs in the Balance

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Tags: business, copyright, defendant, district, federal, richard, technology, theory