Doctrine of First Sale - Contact a Lawyer

Note that copyright law does not restrict resale of copies of works, provided those copies were made by or with the permission of the copyright holder. Thus it is legal, for example, to resell a book or a CD that you have purchased, provided you do not keep a copy for yourself. In the US this is known as the First Sale Doctrine, and was established in the US court system to clarify the legality of reselling books in used book stores. Elsewhere it has other names; in the United Kingdom it is known as "Exhaustion of rights" and is a principle which applies to other Intellectual property rights.

Subject to moral rights, copyright also does not prohibit the owner of a physical copy of a work from modifying, defacing, destroying, etc. the work, so long as this does not involve duplication.

Back to Top

Read More on Copyright law at:

• United States Copyright Office

This web site is designed for intellectual property informational purposes only. The environmental law information contained herein is not guaranteed to be accurate, up to date, or complete. It does not constitute legal advice nor does it constitute the formation of an intellectual property lawyer attorney/client relationship. Individuals accessing this site are encouraged to seek independent counsel for advice regarding their individual legal issues. No person should act or rely on any information in this intellectual property lawyer search without seeking the advice of an family law attorney. Copyright © Lawyerfind Network 2006