If I buy a CD, or a book, or a DVD, I have the option of giving or selling that item to another person or store.
If I purchase downloads of songs from iTunes, do I have the right to delete it from all of my equipment, but give the file to a friend instead?
This is the iTunes Terms of Sale and I didn’t see anything about resale. This CNET article from Sept 2003 probes the same question. Apparently someone listed a iTunes download for sale on eBay to test the waters. I found a bunch of other articles related to the eBay auction, but that is it so far.
Still looking for something more recent…
Technically, I believe you have the right to play the audio file and burn it to CDs for your own use. Reselling the file or a CD is a clear violation of the terms of sale, IIRC.
The legality of burning a CD and then giving it away (as a gift) is a bit fuzzier. I suppose if you subsequently delete the file from your computer, that’s probably okay.
According to the RIAA you own nothing.
You paid for it…you bought it…but it ain’t yours.
You just bought the right to listen to it.
Got a radio?
You purchased a license. The license gives you certain rights and restricts others. Licenses are specific rather than universal, so you have to read your license carefully to tell what you can or cannot do. Ownership is not really the right word to use, and just confuses the issue in everybody’s minds. IANAL.