INFOWORLD GRIPE LINE BY ED FOSTER Bookmark this page

  
Replying To:
Without reading any other responses... (none / 0) (#17)
by rickb928 on Tue Dec 16, 2003 at 12:15:53 PM PDT

I have this take.

First, there was a sale. Time-Warner sold these CDs to Gap. then Gap sold you an item, and the CD was a promo to go with the item. So, Time-Warner did make a sale, unless they gave the CDs to Gap... in which case:

Second, the copyright owner does have some rights to say how the work might be distributed. I believe, sadly, that Time-Warner and Gap have the right to say you can't sell the promo item, for these reasons. One, the promotion is intended to motivate you to buy a product, in part, to recieve the promotional item also. If these CDs became readily available to non-buyers, Gap might fear they lose sales themselves. Might not be true, but it's reasonable, and any court would agree. Two, perhaps this was a special CD with content not normally available, or not available in that collection, and Time-Warner might reasonably expect that sales of the CD could in fact result in lost sales of other CDs. The best rationale for this; I might like the CD because it offers me the few tracks I want without buying several other CDs. True? for me, absolutely.

Last, but not least, though, consider this. Could you give this CD away on eBay, auctioning only for the shipping and handling costs? Not actually charging for the CD that is? Or would this be a sham transaction, disguising the sale as a 'shipping only' transaction? Hmm...

I'm not an apologist for the recording industry, or DCMA, or any other conspiracy theory you have in mind. But the reality is that owners should have some reasonable expectation that a promotional item be restricted to its promotional use, that is to promote something.

Now, a year from today, long after this promo is over, do Time-Warner and Gap have as strong an argument for damages? I think not.... You see, promotions have very short lives usually. Like many artists. Sales are crucial when the iron is hot, so to speak. Decades from now, who will care about Madonna CDs?

-Rick



Post Comment

You are not logged in. If you don't have a user account yet, by all means go make one! If you do have one, you can post as "yourself" by filling in your nickname and password below. Otherwise, your comment will be posted as Anonymous User.

Create Account
Nickname:
Password:

Post Comment: Post your comment below and then please answer the security question. I apologize for the inconvenience, but it does help deter spammers. -- Ed Foster
Subject:
Comment:

To post your comment, please answer the following security question:
 Which of the following is not a word?
Volkswagen, Saab, 9dJAT9, Gray, Indiana, Georgia
Allowed HTML: <A [HREF] [NAME]> <DT> <TT></TT> <OL></OL> <CITE></CITE> <CODE></CODE> <I></I> <UL></UL> <BR> <STRONG></STRONG> <BLOCKQUOTE [TYPE]></BLOCKQUOTE> <DD> <EM></EM> <P> <B></B> <LI> <DL></DL>
Menu
· create account
· faq
· search

Login
Make a new account
Username:
Password:

 HOME  NEWS  COLUMNS  BLOGS  PODCASTS  TECHNOLOGIES  TEST CENTER  EVENTS  CAREERS  IT EXEC-CONNECT   About Awards Contact Us 

Copyright © 2006, Reprints, Permissions, Licensing, IDG Network, Privacy Policy.
All Rights reserved. InfoWorld is a leading publisher of technology information and product reviews on topics including viruses,
phishing, worms, firewalls, security, servers, storage, networking, wireless, databases, and web services.

 ComputerWorld :: LinuxWorld :: Network World :: CIO :: PC World :: Darwin :: CMO :: CSO
IT Careers :: JavaWorld :: Macworld :: Mac Central :: Playlist :: GamePro :: GameStar :: Gamerhelp
ITWorld Canada :: Computerwoche :: Techworld UK :: tecChannel :: IDG.se :: IDG.no :: IDG.pl

create account | faq | search