In urma cu cateva luni compania Oracle a actionat in instanta un comerciant german care revindea software licentiat Oracle catre toate persoanele interesate. Oracle sustinea ca acest lucru este ilegal, contravine prevederilor termenilor de achizitionare a software-ului si ei ar trebui sa primeasca o parte din suma ceruta de revanzator. Dupa un proces controversat se pare ca decizia finala a venit de la Curtea de Justitie Europeana care sustine ca orice persoana care a cumparat un produs software sau un produs cu licenta permanenta, poate revinde acel produs fara niciun fel de restrictie si fara a oferi companiei dezvoltatoare vreo remuneratie.
The first sale in the EU of a copy of a computer program by the copyright holder or with his consent exhausts the right of distribution of that copy in the EU. A rightholder who has marketed a copy in the territory of a Member State of the EU thus loses the right to rely on his monopoly of exploitation in order to oppose the resale of that copy… The principle of exhaustion of the distribution right applies not only where the copyright holder markets copies of his software on a material medium (CD-ROM or DVD) but also where he distributes them by means of downloads from his website.
Practic indiferent daca achizitionam software de pe website-ul unei companii sau din magazinul acesteia, avem dreptul sa il revindem fara nicio restrictie, insa numai daca acest software este cumparat cu o licenta permanenta. Drepturile oferite cumparatorilor ar putea limita drepturile companiilor de a restrictiona accesul utilizatorilor la diverse servicii, dar i-ar putea forta pe unii sa refaca acel continut disponibil tuturor celor care l-au cumparat. Aici intra in discutie App Store-ul celor de la Apple si aplicatiile retrase din el desi au fost achizitionate de catre utilizatori.
The Court observes in particular that limiting the application of the principle of the exhaustion of the distribution right solely to copies of computer programs that are sold on a material medium would allow the copyright holder to control the resale of copies downloaded from the internet and to demand further remuneration on the occasion of each new sale, even though the first sale of the copy had already enabled the rightholder to obtain appropriate remuneration. Such a restriction of the resale of copies of computer programs downloaded from the internet would go beyond what is necessary to safeguard the specific subject-matter of the intellectual property concerned.
Nu de putine ori Apple a retras continut digital din magazinul sau, utilizatorii nepuntandu-le redescarca desi a fost platit. Apple ar putea fi obligata sa renunte la aceste practici si sa le ofere utilizatorilor posibilitatea de a descarca din nou aplicatii chiar daca ele au fost retrase din App Store. Decizia Curtii de Justitie este noua, ea se aplica imediat si va avea efecte importante in viitor. Mai multe detalii aveti in acest document.