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> "Could a bookseller add a license to a physical book, and suddenly you can't sell it or lend it out? " Probably. I mean, they're already selling physical i
by darkpuma 7y ago
> "Could a bookseller add a license to a physical book, and suddenly you can't sell it or lend it out? "
Probably. I mean, they're already selling physical items laden with DRM (DVD/bluray), presumably in those cases they are selling you "a license to watch the disk." The ability to restrict first sale of DRM'd movies is probably on their TODO list I'd wager, or their list of greatest regrets.
Incidentally, years ago, they did manage to invent a self-destructing DVD obsensibly for rental-without-return purposes. Technology Connections has a good video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccneE_gkSAs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccneE_gkSAs
- zaroth 7y agoThe actual answer appears to be that you can sell add-on digital content which is licensed only for sale with the physical item, and that’s OK. But you cannot add license terms to the physical book itself, the book can be resold freely. That’s recently been affirmed by the Supreme Court.
- darkpuma 7y agoHypothetically if they had the technology to create a paperback book that self-destructs when anybody but you opens it, would that business model be illegal? As far as I know, SCOTUS said companies can't use the legal system to prevent resale of their books. But did they say that technical solutions are also banned?
- zaroth 7y agoIf you buy a product which is designed for a single use, knowing that it’s a single use product, and obviously this is something that would have to fail gracefully and safely, I really don’t see a problem with that. Obviously companies (and therefore customers) should be paying for the ecological impact of their waste product.