Capitol Records v. ReDigi: The First Sale Doctrine and MP3s
The Southern District Court of New York has granted summary judgment in favor of the copyright holder in Capital Records v. ReDigi regarding the reproduction and distribution rights, essentially holding that consumers cannot resell their legally purchased MP3s. Summary judgment was denied regarding infringement of the plaintiff’s performance rights.
The opinion by Judge Richard J. Sullivan begins by specifically noting at the outset that the issues in this case are “narrow, technical, purely legal.” The court found that (1) ReDigi infringed upon Capitol Records’ rights of reproduction and distribution, and (2) ReDigi could not benefit from the fair use defense or the first sale doctrine.
ReDigi is a music resale website that allows users to sell mp3s originally purchased from iTunes or other ReDigi users; the ReDigi receives a fee on every transaction. The website validates the mp3s to ensure that the user has not retained copies on his computer. Once a file is validated, ReDigi “migrates” it to its “Cloud Locker,” or remote server. It is this migrating process that was at issue in the case. Plaintiff Capitol Records asserts that the process “necessarily involves copying,” and thus constitutes infringement. Defendant ReDigi, asserts that the process is “analogous to a train,” with pieces or packets being moved from one location to another, so that the data exists only in one place at a time.
The Court specifically focused on the reproduction right, noting that the Copyright Act address the creation of new material object, rather than the creation of an additional object, and thus rejecting ReDigi’s argument. The Court found that “ReDigi’s service by necessity creates a new material object when a digital music file is either uploaded to or downloaded from the Cloud Locker.”
The Court also found that ReDigi was not entitled to benefit from the fair use defense regarding the reproduction and distribution rights. The Court agreed with Plaintiff Capitol Records’ assertion that uploading and download incident to sale are not covered by the fair use defense. Finally, the Court found that ReDigi could not benefit from the first sale doctrine.
For more information:
“Capitol wins digital records lawsuit vs ReDigi start-up,” April 1, 2013, https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/01/us-capitolrecords-redigi-lawsuit-idUSBRE9300GB20130401
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JAntonelli
Jeffrey Antonelli is a member of the federal trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois and is admitted to numerous federal courts around the country. He has been a civil litigator nearly 25 years in a broad range of actions representing corporations and individuals as plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court. Jeffrey has been interviewed by the media many times, including Bloomberg BNA, NBC, The New York Times, Chicago Lawyer, Chicago Tribune, and the longstanding lawyer’s publication Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Prior to forming Antonelli Law Ltd. in 2007 Jeffrey worked for several litigation boutiques in Chicago’s Loop as well as a full service firm. His litigation experience includes hotly contested issues in intellectual property, business, insurance, and consumer fraud. He is an adviser to the Illinois Board of Higher Education Advisory Council for Private Business and Vocational Schools (PBVS), and was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Education Law Section Council from 2012-2013. Jeffrey is especially proud of his work representing hundreds of students defrauded by improperly accredited educational institutions, including as certified class counsel. Before attending law school, Jeffrey was interested first in business, and then in biomedical ethics. These interests led him to graduate from the nation’s largest philosophy department at Loyola University in Chicago, where some of his favorite (and most challenging) subjects were cognitive science and philosophy of science. During college he held positions at the University of Chicago’s Ben May Institute; as a medical assistant for a University of Chicago foot and ankle surgeon; and volunteered in the emergency room at the University of Chicago Hospitals. These experiences led to studying health law at the DePaul College of Law where Jeffrey earned his law degree and a certificate in health law. At that time DePaul’s Institute for Health Law was consistently ranked in the top 10 health law specialty programs nationwide. During law school Jeffrey immersed himself in studying the practical and public policy aspects of health care through internships at the American Medical Association in Chicago, and on Capitol Hill at the Governmental Relations Office of the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, DC. Jeffrey has concentrated in civil litigation throughout his legal career, and is a member of the federal trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois, the Central District of Illinois federal court, and all federal courts of Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. In addition, he is a member of the DuPage County Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. Jeffrey prides himself on his strong personal ideals, passionate, ethical advocacy, and working hard to bring the best possible results for his clients. He also maintains a special interest in cases involving fraud. Whether due to good parenting, his family’s law enforcement employment, undergraduate studies in philosophy including ethics, or a fortuitous outcome of good breeding, one essence of Jeffrey’s character is a drive to root out the truth behind fraudulent practices.