Editing Software copyright (section)

====EULAs and rights of end users====
The Copyright Act expressly permits copies of a work to be made in some circumstances, even without the authorization of the copyright holder.  In particular, "owners of copies" may make additional copies for archival purposes, "as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program", or for maintenance purposes.<ref name="sect117">{{UnitedStatesCode|17|117}}</ref> Furthermore, "owners of copies" have the right to resell their copies, under the [[first sale doctrine]] and {{UnitedStatesCode|17|109}}.

These rights only apply to "owners of copies."  Most software vendors claim that their products are "licensed, not sold",<ref name="doweownsteamgames">{{cite web|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/01/thought-do-we-own-our-steam-games/ |title=Thought: Do We Own Our Steam Games? |publisher=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]] |first=John |last=Walker |date=2012-02-01 |access-date=2014-12-27 |quote=I asked gamer lawyer Jas Purewal about this a short while back, not specifically about Valve, and he explained that the matter is still unresolved. “In fact,” he says, “it’s never been completely resolved for software generally[...]"}}</ref> thus sidestepping {{UnitedStatesCode|17|117}}.  American courts have taken varying approaches when confronted with these [[software license agreement]]s. In  ''[[MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc.]]'', ''[[Triad Systems Corp. v. Southeastern Express Co.]]'', and ''Microsoft v Harmony'',<ref name="ms_v_harmony">Microsoft Corp. v. Harmony Computers & Elecs., Inc., 846 F. Supp. 208 (E.D.N.Y. 1994)</ref> various Federal courts held that "licensed, not sold" language in an [[End-user license agreement|EULA]] was effective. Other courts have held that "no bright-line rule distinguishes mere licenses from sales...The label placed on a transaction is not determinative".<ref name="vernor_v_autodesk">[http://www.citizen.org/documents/vernororder.pdf Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., 555 F.Supp.2d 1164 (W.D.Wash. 2008).]</ref>  The Ninth Circuit took a similar view (in the specialized context of bankruptcy) in  [[Microsoft Corp. v. DAK Industries, Inc.]]<ref name="ms_v_dak">Microsoft Corp. v. DAK Indus., Inc., 66 F.3d 1091 (9th Cir. 1995)</ref>

By contrast, in the [[European Union]] the [[European Court of Justice]] held that a copyright holder cannot oppose the resale of a digitally sold software, in accordance with the rule of copyright exhaustion on [[first sale doctrine|first sale]] as ownership is transferred, and questions therefore the "licensed, not sold" [[End-user license agreement|EULAs]] in the EU.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamerlaw.co.uk/2012/the-legality-of-second-hand-software-sales-in-the-eu/ |title=The legality of second hand software sales in the EU |first=Jas |last=Purewal |publisher=gamerlaw.co.uk}} ([https://www.gamedeveloper.com/view/news/173538 mirror] on [[gamasutra.com]])</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16069323,00.html |title=Oracle loses court fight over software resale rules |quote=''A European court has ruled that it's permissible to resell software licenses even if the package has been downloaded directly from the Internet. It sided with a German firm in its legal battle with US giant Oracle.'' |date=2012-07-03 |access-date=2014-12-30 |author=hg/mz (AFP, dpa) |publisher=[[dw.de]]}}</ref><ref name="ecjforbes">{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregvoakes/2012/07/03/european-courts-rule-in-favor-of-consumers-reselling-downloaded-games/ |work=[[forbes.com]] |first=Greg |last=Voakes |title=European Courts Rule In Favor Of Consumers Reselling Downloaded Games |date=2012-07-03 |access-date=2014-12-30 |quote=''Could this be the victory we need for a “gamer’s bill of rights” ? DRM is an oft-cited acronym, and resonates negatively in the gaming community. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in favor of reselling downloaded games. Simply put, legally purchased and downloaded games will be treated like physical copies of the game, and consumers can then sell their ‘used’ game.''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=124564&doclang=en |title=JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Grand Chamber) |date=2012-07-03 |quote=(Legal protection of computer programs — Marketing of used licences for computer programs downloaded from the internet — Directive 2009/24/EC — Articles 4(2) and 5(1) — Exhaustion of the distribution right — Concept of lawful acquirer) |publisher=InfoCuria – Case-law of the Court of Justice |access-date=2014-12-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/top-eu-court-upholds-right-to-resell-downloaded-software/|title=Top EU court upholds right to resell downloaded software |author=Timothy B. Lee |date=2012-07-03 |publisher=[[Ars Technica]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/eu-court-oks-resale-software-licenses-16704351 |title=EU Court OKs Resale of Software Licenses |publisher=AP}}</ref>