Amazon has been granted with a patent to re-sell digital content, in a move that could pose a problem for media owners.
The Amazon patent, which was filed in 2009 but granted last month, covers “digital objects including e-books, audio, video, computer applications etc” and could be implemented “when the user no longer desires to retain the right to access the now-used digital content.
The patent allows consumers to sell second-hand digital content they have purchased legally.
“The user may move the used digital content to another user’s personalised data store when permissible and the used digital content is deleted from the originating user’s personalised data store,” the patent reads.
The new service could leave rights holders out of the loop when it comes to gaining revenue from second-hand digital sales, which could cannibalise sales at digital retailers.
The move has angered digital-reselling firm ReDigi, described as ‘the world’s first online marketplace for the resale of pre-owned digital media’.
In a statement, ReDigital said: “In contrast, the ReDigi model frees up billions of dollars of locked up wealth,” the company says. “It enables the participation of all parties – from consumer to artist/author to copyright holder – in the profit chain. The nexus between the physical and digital marketplace can be defined by the emergence of a true secondary marketplace. ReDigi has managed to create just that, not only by solving the riddle of original content transfer, but by taking an enlightened step forward in bringing the artists and copyright holders back into the revenue stream.”
ReDigi was accused of last year copyright infringement by Capitol Records, with a judgment awaited from a New York court.
US-based ReDigi is reportedly preparing to launch a service in Europe which will include digital music. The company allows artists to join the platform and receive 20% all sales of their music.
View the Amazon patent here