I took a course a while back and bought the course books to go with it. I finished the course and now have no use for the books. They are still in good condition and i paid a LOT of money for them. I decided to post them on Ebay. I received a message from a course representative stating that what I was doing was illegal and would be persecuted. I checked my enrollment papers saw the fine print that states "The program materials... are licensed to the applicant or student only, are nontransferrable and may not be sold or given to a third party."
I'm confused. I had always thought that if I purchased something it was then MINE and I could decided what to do with it. I know that reproducing materials is illegal, but do they really have the legal right to state that I can't give the books away or resell them?
2007-09-14 06:01:07 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Sorry, but from the sounds of the contract language you quoted, you cannot resell the books. That was the agreement you made with them.
It is the same thing as a software agreement. You can buy a copy of Windows, but the license agreement prohibits you from reselling it.
It is to protect their market, it is not about copyrights.
2007-09-14 06:09:12 · answer #1 · answered by raichasays 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about being "persecuted" (I think you mean prosecuted), but that's a very interesting contractual provision.
Generally, you're protected by the "first sale doctrine" from the owner of a COPYRIGHT for suing you for copyright infringement if you later sell or rent your copy of the copyrighted material (i.e. you can sell a book you bought to a used book store and they can resell it without violating copyright law). But this contract has attempted to grant yuo a "license" to use their course materials. To the extent the materials contain secret or confidential materials, this may fly. You may also try to argue that the contract is void against public policy or preempted by the Copyright Act because they're really subverting the first sale doctrine
From the facts here, I don't see how you can be prosecuted for any crime, but it's possible that they may try to sue you for monetary damages or an injunction.
There are too many unknowns, like your state's law, what the nature of the materials are, where you purchased them from, how they were categorized in your tuition materials (e.g. if you were charged for "books" or "reading materials," that may make a difference in the enforceability of the license provision), and a whole bucnch of other facts. My suggestion -- call an attorney or seek pro bono legal assistance in your jurisdiction. If you're a student, there may be student legal services at a university nearby. Or you can call your local bar association for a referral.
Good luck!
2007-09-14 07:22:43 · answer #2 · answered by Perdendosi 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you agreed to the conditions in the enrollment papers, so you can't re-sell the books. You may have bought something physical, but it was a one-user license like a computer program.
If you buy a book at amazon you can sell it in a second hand store or ebay or wherever because you didn't agree to a limited license.
2007-09-14 06:11:00 · answer #3 · answered by bookmom 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am guessing that the books related to a "process" that is controlled by the school where you got them. Most college books are sold to used book stores. There is something about the books and materials that is not meant for "disclosure".
2007-09-14 06:41:01 · answer #4 · answered by sensible_man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
umm what kind of class did you take? and where was it? college? if ur talking about normal texts books from a college then yeah you can sell them but it they are books from some "tech" school or what not you better look further into it
2007-09-14 06:09:41 · answer #5 · answered by bLeSsEd 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋