A federal judge has rejected a claim by Autodesk that it can restrict sales of its software on eBay. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones in Seattle ruled that eBay vendor Timothy Vernor has the right to sell software that he legitimately purchased, despite Autodesk's contention that it only sells licenses to use its software and not the software itself.

In 2007, Vernor purchased Autodesk's AutoCAD design software from the Seattle architecture firm, Cardwell/Thomas Associates. He subsequently put the software up for sale on eBay, spurring Autodesk to complain that Vernor was violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. eBay suspended Vernor for a month as a result.

Vernor, who earns a living selling material on eBay, then sued Autodesk. He asked the court to declare that he is allowed to re-sell the software and to enjoin Autodesk from interfering with that.

Autodesk countered that Vernor had no right to sell the product because he didn't own it. But the court rejected that contention, ruling that Autodesk was selling an ownership right to its software. "The transfer of AutoCAD copies via the license is a transfer of ownership," Jones wrote.

The company also alleged that Vernor's sales could result in piracy, but Jones did not accept that argument either. "Vernor's sale of AutoCAD packages promote piracy no more so than Autodesk's sales of the same packages," Jones wrote.

Vernor's attorney, Greg Beck of advocacy group Public Citizen, says the ruling endorses the proposition that consumers who purchase a product are entitled to resell it. "When you buy something, you buy it, and you can do what you want with it," he says.

A similar issue came up recently in a lawsuit between Universal Music Group and eBay user Troy Augusto. In that case, U.S. District Court Judge James Otero in Los Angeles ruled that Universal could not stop Augusto from using eBay to resell promotional CDs that he had purchased from record stores. Although the CDs were marked "not for resale," Otero ruled that people have the right to resell goods they have purchased. Universal appealed the decision.

Meanwhile, other courts have ruled that software vendors can restrict buyers' rights by asserting that they only purchase a license to use software.

This news story is important. I recommend that everyone read it.