Recently Asked Questions

Question 1

Recently, a patron asked what our library does with the digital movie codes that come with some of the DVD and Blu-ray disc we purchase. We have been throwing those codes out, so he wanted to know if we could give those codes to him (he would be willing to purchase them).

I would like to know the legality of selling them to patrons to raise funds for the library. What about including them in prizes? Is it covered by the First-Sale Doctrine? What if the fine print on some read "sale or transfer prohibited?" The discs are purchased with tax-payer money, does that further complicate the situation?

Question 2

When purchasing DVDs/Blu-rays at a library there are often alpha-numeric Digital Movie Codes available to receive a digital copy of the movie. These licenses seem to be tied to a single person that cannot be used or circulated in any easy way. Is there anything a library could use these licenses for, such as public viewings (as long as they are covered under the appropriate movie license) or giveaways at the library. Or are these Digital Movie Codes best to be thrown away because of the copyright restrictions surrounding digital content? 

Amazon.com sells audiobooks. One of the formats is an MP3 CD. The image of an example box says the MP3 is transferable. 

My question is, if I bought one of these audiobook MP3 CDs for the library, would it be copyright infringement for me to transfer the audiobook MP3? What if I wanted to transfer it to a google drive so that it could be shared amongst a teacher and her students? Would that be copyright infringement?

Just wondering on the dynamics.