first sale doctrine Last modified: Tuesday, October 21, 2003
A legal principle that limits a rightsholder’s rights to control content after it has been sold for the first time. According to first sale doctrine, lawful ownership of an item, such as a music CD or a book, is not the same as owning the copyright of the item. The owner of the item may lend, resell, give away and or/destroy the copyrighted item but is not granted the right to copy the item in its entirety. The transfer of the copy does not include the transfer of the content’s copyright. The legal principle applies to physical items as well as digital content that is downloaded over the Internet.
The First Sale Doctrine in the Era of Digital Networks This article considers the long-term impact of technological change on the first sale doctrine.	Related Categories Computer Law Digital Rights Management (DRM) Ethics Related Terms DRM license right rightsholder Books first sale doctrine Products Shop by Top Models: John Wesley Hanson - Universalism, the Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years 3 store offers from $20 - $20 Isaac Watts - THE TRACT PRIMER: First Lessons in Sound Doctrine for Young Children 1 store offers from $2.66 - $2.66 John Wesley Hanson - Universalism, the Prevailing Doctrine of the Christian Church During Its First Five Hundred Years 1 store offers from $26 - $26 John Milton - The Prose Works of John Milton: Containing the First Book of a Treatise on Christian Doctrine 1 store offers from $26 - $26 E. De Pressense - The Early Years of Christianity: A Comprehensive History of the First Three Centuries of the Christian Church; Heresy and Christian Doctrine 1 store offers from $36 - $36