Court Rules Users Can't Resell Songs Bought on iTunes

ItunesA U.S. District Court judge has ruled that users cannot legally resell songs they have purchased on iTunes, reports All Things D. The case in question is a lawsuit between Capitol Records and music startup ReDigi, which wants to create a marketplace for owners of digital music to sell their libraries.

ReDigi argued that 'first-sale doctrine' should apply to digital purchases in addition to physical ones, but the court did not accept that argument. First-sale doctrine holds that individuals are able to sell their legally purchased books or CDs to other parties.

However, here, the Court cannot of its own accord condone the wholesale application of the first sale defense to the digital sphere, particularly when Congress itself has declined to take that step. Accordingly, and for the reasons stated above, the Court GRANTS Capitol's motion for summary judgment on its claims for ReDigi's direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement of its distribution and reproduction rights. The Court also DENIES ReDigi's motion in its entirety.

The Judge granted partial summary judgement to Capital Records, but has ordered both sides to submit a joint letter to the court by April 12, "concerning the next contemplated steps" in the case. We have uploaded Judge Richard J. Sullivan's full decision to Scribd.

Apple filed for several patents recently that suggest the company is at least considering ways for users to resell, lend or inherit digital content. The company has made no indications that it would make such a service available, however.

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...

Top Rated Comments

Daremo Avatar
157 months ago
What about ownership transfers in the result of death, or a mp3 music collection being willed to someone?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
markfc Avatar
157 months ago
This is the reason I still buy physical CDs, it's usually cheaper too plus ill decide what bitrate to encode in :-)
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nzalog Avatar
157 months ago
I hope they don't wonder why people pirate media after this. There has been many examples why pirating is way more convenient than a legitimate purchase. You would think that it should be the other way around and a paying customer should have the best experience.

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DesertEagle Avatar
157 months ago
This sucks. Soon, one can no longer (legally) resell a CD if the record company dislikes it. Physical media or not, the content is still digital.

It better be an April Fool's joke.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
inlinevolvo Avatar
157 months ago
Another loss for consumers.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bdavis89 Avatar
157 months ago
How would you resell music anyways? What's stopping you from selling file copies? I think I don't understand..
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)