William Patry, recognized expert on copyright law and currently Senior Copyright Counsel, Google Inc., recently wrote at his personal blog about relevant case law behind the current suit of Timothy Vernor v. Autodesk.
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First Sale, Software, and eBay" discusses similar cases brought by or against Adobe Systems, which had contradictory results. Reading Patry's article reaffirms my opinion that there is no settled case law here, despite what Autodesk and other software companies with similar license terms insist. There is a need for a good case to sort through the issues; it seems Vernor v. Autodesk may get to be that case.
Related articles:
New Filing, New High-Profile Attorney in Vernor v. Autodesk
Watchdog Agency Public Citizen Agrees to Represent eBay Seller Vernor in Suit Against Autodesk
Commenting Readers Run Amok about eBay Seller’s Autodesk Lawsuit
Letters in the Vernor Versus Autodesk Case
Vernor Stands Firm in CCNtv Interview
Vernor Gives Autodesk No Ground in CCNtv Interview
eBay Seller Sues Autodesk for $10 Million
The Man Who Dared to Sell AutoCAD Release 14 on eBay
Vernor No Longer In It Just For The Money (Mature warning)
--RSN
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