IP Democracy: RIAA: No Preloaded iPods

The Recording Industry Association of America has a new target for its digital copyright crusade: iPod owners who sell their used devices that also happen to have music tracks on them. The RIAA contends, to the consternation of some intellectual property experts, that a consumer who sells a second-hand iPod complete with unerased music tracks is violating the copyright laws.

“Selling an iPod preloaded with music is no different than selling a DVD onto which you have burned your entire music collection,” the RIAA said in a statement. “Either act is a clear violation of U.S. copyright law. The RIAA is monitoring this means of infringement. In short: seller beware.”

Well, the RIAA may be rattling its saber a little too loudly here. According to one of eBay’s copyright attorneys, Andrew Bridges, the law is not that cut-and-dried.

“It really depends on the individual circumstances,” he explained. “I’m not sure the law is settled. If I’m a college student and I want to supplement my income by buying 100 iPods and taking my CD collection and putting it on those iPods and selling them at a significant premium, that’s probably not going to fly. But if I’ve had my iPod Shuffle for two years and I’m tired of it and I go out and buy a 60 gig video iPod and want to sell my old Shuffle, but don’t want to purge the music first, that’s probably legal.”

(Hat tip to Engadget.)

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on February 14, 2006 4:24 PM to IP Democracy