Court Reaffirms Right of First Sale for Software

And once again, the plaintiff trying to claim that software is a license, and not a physical product is Autodesk, and the court just ruled that the software in question had been legally purchased from a legal licensee, and that the purchaser had an absolute right to then resell the software:

"The Autodesk License is a hodgepodge of terms that, standing alone, support both a transfer of ownership and a mere license," said the ruling. "Autodesk expressly retains title to the 'Software and accompanying materials,' but it has no right to regain possession of the software or the 'accompanying materials'. Licensees pay a single up-front price for the software. Autodesk can require the destruction of the software, but only as consideration in the later purchase of an upgrade."

"The court concludes that Wise leads to the conclusion that the transfer of AutoCAD copies via the License is a transfer of ownership," it said.

The EFF is crowing about this.