eBay seller can sue in Autodesk copyright claim
Published May 23rd, 2008
On Thursday, a Seattle judge upheld Timothy Vernor’s right to sue Autodesk, after the California software company prevented him from reselling used copies of AutoCAD drafting software online.
Vernor makes his living selling on eBay. In 2005, he bought a used copy of AutoCAD at a garage sale and put it up for sale on eBay. Autodesk filed several Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA) notices with eBay, claiming the sale violated its copyright. eBay suspended Vernor’s auction. Vernor countersued, and eBay eventually reinstated his auction. As a result of those notices, eBay suspended his account for a month, though, cutting off his livelihood, he said.
Autodesk moved to dismiss the suit. But Judge Richard Jones of the U.S. District Court Western District of Washington allowed the case to proceed in his ruling Thursday. Autodesk argued that it didn’t sell but rather licensed its software to the Seattle company that ultimately sold it to Vernor, and that the license binds Vernor.
ublic Citizen argued that the owner of a copyrighted product can resell that product without permission, and that the court should protect Vernor’s rights to resell AutoCAD software.
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