Re: [dvd-discuss] Slightly OT - Japanese copyrights

[Bruce Thompson <bruce(at)otherother.com>]

Hi again,

On 2002.02.28 12:06 Noah silva wrote:
     [ snip ]
> 
> I don't think that a particular copy means a particular PHYSICAL copy.
> If I pay and download my copy, then there is no physical copy I bought,
> just ownership of one copy.  I reject that one copy is more valid than
> another just because it was commercially produced with a pretty label.
> 

Here I tend to get more muddled. In the case of downloaded works my gut 
says that first sale rights do not attach since there was no transaction 
involving a particular copy fixed in a tangible medium, but fair use 
rights always apply. The closest analogy for me would be cable television 
(please not I am specifically excluding pay-per-view). By paying a monthly 
fee the cable company delivers content to your residence. You have full 
fair use rights to that content but first sale does not attach. In  my 
mind this is the best model for the purchase of downloaded content.

In the specific case of Pay-Per-View, I believe that the above _should_ be 
the case as well though I suspect that most Pay-Per-View agreements 
contain language specifically to discourage that view.

	Cheers,
	Bruce.