Why is not possible to sell digital games and movies that you own to others like physical media?
In: 66
When it comes to physical goods of any kind, the First Sale doctrine applies. What this means is that a copyright holder can only sue to prevent the first sale of its copyrighted work. Let’s say you want to sell a Marvel T-shirt that you made from scratch. Disney could stop you from selling that. But let’s say you sell it to your cousin. Your cousin can freely sell it however he wishes. Disney can’t stop him. They can only stop the first sale of a physical good involving their trademark.
This doctrine would apply to physical games, it does not apply to digital items. When you buy a digital item, you are buying a license to use it. A license, unlike a physical item, can be freely restricted by the grantor of the license. In cases of video games, the grantors of the digital licenses could allow you to sell your license to another, but they don’t want to allow that — they would make no money off such sale.
Latest Answers