The content industry in the U.S. has always guarded its interests very aggressively. A new debate regarding the resale of digital MP3 music is raging in the U.S. courts right now. It has ensued as a result of the legal battle between ReDigi and EMI.
ReDigi is a venture that was launched as far back as 2011. It claims to be the first online company which provides the consumers with a legally-protected space to purchase second-hand digital content.
ReDigi makes this happen through its proprietary software which works in a very interesting manner. If a user has bought a music file legally, he directs the software towards it. The software then checks whether or not the file is legal. If it is legal, the software uploads the file to the user who is buying it and at the same time, erases it from the seller’s hard drive.
In this way, ReDigi holds that in its resale of digital music content, it lies perfectly within the legal sphere and hasn’t violated any laws. According to the company’s CEO, “Most lawful users of music and books have hundreds of dollars of lawfully obtained things on their computers and right now the value of that is zero dollars.” He said so when referring to a lawsuit that has been brought up against ReDigi by EMI.
EMI is a giant in the U.S. content industry and is naturally looking to safeguard its own interests, and profits, by blocking ReDigi’s digital music resales. This is a very important case because whatever the court rules, that will determine the future of music resales.
And if the court rules in favor of ReDigi, that can drastically alter the music industry, much to the common user’s profit. Google has also cited that it is closely watching this case and that it has “a specific and vital interest” in its outcome.
Source: BBC
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