Also, a CD resale is also protected by the U.S.Ĭonstitution's First Amendment, argues Mitchell. T raditionally, used CD sales are protected byįirst-sale doctrine in copyright laws allow owners to resell CDs,Īccording to (NARM attorney John) Mitchell. The buying and selling of used CDs much more onerous to stores and lessĪttractive to customers looking to sell music they are no longerĪmong the impediments, a requirement that those who want to sell their CD's through second-hand shops must be thumb-printed and provide identification. Legislation, sometimes referred to as pawn-shop laws, that could make The gist: With enthusiastic backing from the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, 'Florida and Utah have passed (and Rhode Island is considering) second-hand goods This would be an abstract little debate for college freshmen to have over a beer, but Blllboard is now reporting that ' New Laws Threaten Used CD Market.' Most such products are in 'new enough' condition that, arguably, the result if not the intent of the purchase is to deprive the copyright holder of his or her fair share of the transaction.Ī counter to this argument is that it could be extended to cover the sale or even the donation of almost any used good and is therefore absurd the 'cost' of pass-alongs and re-sales is built into the retail price. That's certainly one rather fussy way to look at such transactions.Īnd the same analysis would apply to used book,videos games, DVDs and so on. When you buy a used CD, the artist receives no royalty so you might as well be pirating a version from an illicit online source. When you sell a used CD, you receive all the proceeds and don't share a nickel with the artist.

Selling used cds on amazon