first-sale doctrine

American  

noun

1. a legal principle allowing the purchaser of a lawfully made copy of a copyright-protected work to sell or give away that copy without permission but not to reproduce it.

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Etymology

Origin of first-sale doctrine

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Thanks to legal concepts like the first-sale doctrine, physical book buyers typically own the media they’ve purchased outright, and they’re allowed to sell it without the original publishers making money.

From The Verge • Aug. 3, 2022

On Friday, the court said that the state law conflicts with the federal copyright law’s first-sale doctrine that claims once a copyright owner sells work a first time, they lose control over future sales.

From New York Times • Jul. 11, 2018

Libraries rely on the first-sale doctrine to share, and our ability to keep it going in a digital era is uncertain.

From Slate • Jul. 24, 2014

But Kirtsaeng contended that his actions were protected under the "first-sale" doctrine, a provision of federal copyright law that lets owners of "lawfully made" copies sell or dispose of them without copyright owners' permission.

From Reuters • Oct. 29, 2012

There is no longer a first-sale doctrine to keep things neat and tidy.

From Forbes • Sep. 19, 2011