Public Citizen represents an eBay vendor in a case against Autodesk, a California-based software company. The suit alleges that Autodesk used its copyright to suppress competition from the sale of used copies of its products online, leading to higher prices for consumers. Although Autodesk claims that its shrink-wrap license prohibits resale of its products, Public Citizen argues that the contract language is unlawful under the Copyright Act, which guarantees that the owner of a copyrighted product can resell that product without permission. In October 2009, the court ruled that Autodesk sells, rather than licenses, its software, and therefore that Vernor is permitted to resell it. |
