You've been owned ?

[psy_commando]

This is mostly a matter concerning Americans, but chances are that if that thing gets accepted in the USA, it will make its way to Canada as well.

Has anybody seen this before :

http://www.youvebeenowned.org/

Supposedly that the copyright trolls are at it again.

And they basically want to keep people from reselling their possession, without the copyright owner's consent ! That's the most horrible idea I ever heard out of these guys, its even worst than SOPA isn't it ?

I wonder what's going on in their head.. They don't seem to have concern for anything not concerning their precious copyrights and trademarks ...

  Staff Comment:

Fact Check: The case in question is regarding importing new texbooks from overseas and reselling them in the US as a business. The defendant was not being sued for selling used books.

[Fana McCloud]

Yeah, heard about that, it made me very sad and disappointed that they think they can roll back progress and eliminate the rule of first sale.

[sroberson]

I literally heard the summary of "prevent people from selling their possessions without consent from the copyright holders" and lol'd. Hard. I mean how can they possibly hope to keep this from happening? It's a pipe dream by some incredibly old and possibly senile company owners. It simply can't be done, it would upset the market so badly that as soon as we realize we will start to lose services like Ebay, Amazon, game stores, book stores, used car dealerships, etc, etc. I mean i'm still laughing at this, its so dang preposterous. They can't even curb piracy of digital media...Now they want to limit our ability to sell anything/everything, or at least have all of us report to some agency to ask for permission. There isn't enough human resource people in the world to limit the trade of used goods.

[LoneWolf]

Hah, if they do this, the entire population of the United States is going to prison. It isn't happening.

[The Shaper]

Hah, if they do this, the entire population of the United States is going to prison. It isn't happening.

"We're number one! We're number one! We're number one in restricting freedom!"

[DZComposer]

Sounds like a load of FUD to me. They don't even mention the case involved, other than it was ruled on by a "federal judge in New York."

Very sloppy work, and appears to be laden with obvious Straw Man arguments (You cant resale clothes? C'mon, no court would rule that way, not even this bought-and-paid-for SCOTUS.)

While there are very real concerns with First Sale doctrine and media, this group doesn't sound like they know what they are talking about.

EDIT: and some digging reveals that this case is not the evil monster the site says it is:

John Wiley & Sons, a textbook publisher, sells expensive versions of the textbooks here and less expensive versions abroad. Supap Kirtsaeng, a foreign graduate student at University of Southern California, decided to help pay for his schooling by having relatives buy him copies of the foreign versions abroad, send them to him, whereupon he'd sell those books on eBay to willing students. He'd make money, the students would save money, but Wiley might have fewer sales of its pricey American versions. The case is styled Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons.

So, basically, the guy is operating an import business. And case law has this settled: Import-and-resale businesses ARE NOT protected by First Sale (This is how Lik-Sang got shut down by Sony). This case is a non-issue.

People are making huge leaps with this ruling, which ruled that since the books are being made overseas and imported, they are not subject to First Sale, which is long-established case law. People are running with this saying that since iPods are made in China, you now need Apple's permission to pawn your iPod. Uhm, no. You need Apple's permission if you import a bunch of iPods from another country for the purpose of resale.

I work at a university, so I know how it probably went down:

1. Guy discovers he can buy his books in his home country cheaper than at the used bookstore.

2. Guy gets idea: I can make some money by undercutting the used price with a new book!

3. Guy gets family to buy a bunch of books and send them to him

4. Guy posts fliers around campus advertising his cheap books

5. Wiley book rep is visiting campus to sell his company's books to professors (Did I mention these guys are annoying?)

6. Book rep sees one of these fliers

7. Book rep grabs flier and shows it to his boss

8. LAWSUIT

[psy_commando]

Well, I'm glad this isn't true. I kinda gave them the benefit of the doubt since they were right on SOPA, but I guess I was wrong..

And given the current track record of the various big copyright holders, it wasn't all that far-fetched to believe they'd come up with something like that.

[DZComposer]

If you remember from that Bill Nye show I posted in the Counter Point: Always be skeptical of extraordinary claims. I was with these people, until this line:

"If we lose this fight, practically anybody who wants to resell products they bought -- from Macbooks and iPhones to our clothing and textbooks -- will have to ask copyright holders for permission first."

Wait... I have to ask to resell my clothes? That's a pretty damn extraordinary claim.

With how much commerce is done around First Sale, no court in its right mind would eliminate the doctrine. So, that meant that this now required further investigation before I threw my support behind it. I initially found nothing, so I made the post labeling it FUD. Though, ironically, digging in their own links I was able to find the truth.

Another clue: Lack of specifics. They didn't even mention the case! Or the circumstance! Or the ruling!

Who is Demand Progress? Are the related to a reputable internet freedom organization like the EFF? Nope. They look like some kind of PAC.

Learning to recognize these kinds of things will help you calibrate your Bullshit Detector. When something sets it off, do further investigation before agreeing!

[Fana McCloud]

Well I honestly think preventing imports because "we sell it cheaper over there" is stupid too. If you can afford to sell it cheaper over there then sell it at the same price here too, otherwise I'd just tell 'em to STFU when people import it cheaper. That's how trade works - if you find a better deal elsewhere you pounce on it.

[psy_commando]

I found a more informed article : http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120920/01565420443/mpaa-riaa-if-people-can-sell-foreign-purchased-content-without-paying-us-again-us-economy-may-collapse.shtml

I think the amicus brief filled by the MPAA and RIAA is what might have confused some people.