If I gave you a book, but I told you that you could only read pages 10-24, you would think I was crazy. If I sold you a car, but I told you that I was keeping the rights to drive in second gear, you’d laugh at me. So why is it ok for people to sell us dvd’s where we can’t skip the previews for the next ‘feature?’ If all I want to do is watch the lobby scene from The Matrix, why should I be forced to watch commercials before I get there? I bought the damn thing, which means I can do whatever I want with it now. The seller’s rights to dictate how I use that product stopped when my ownership started. That, in a nutshell, is what the doctrine of first sale is about. It’s why there is a legal market in used books and cd’s- that is, why it’s not a copyright violation for you to sell a used book after you’re done reading it, even without a license to sell or distribute from the copyright owner.
So when Cory Doctrow over at boingboing points out something like this, it makes my head pound.
Please note: This fabric can be purchased for personal sewing projects only. This print cannot be used for items made for resale.
It’s nice that they want to impose this restriction on their purchasers- good luck enforcing it. If they admit they can’t enforce it, why go to the trouble of claiming it in the first place?
