Autodesk license compliance audits: Difference between revisions

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== Background ==

Autodesk distributes its software under license rather than sale, so a customer never owns the copy. ~~The point~~ was settled in ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010).<ref name="vernor-cl" /> Timothy Vernor bought several used, boxed copies of AutoCAD Release 14, one at a garage sale and four more from another business that had originally obtained them from Autodesk, and resold them on eBay. Autodesk filed copyright take-down notices to pull the listings, so Vernor sued ~~in 2007~~ to establish that reselling copies he had bought was lawful.<ref name="vernor" /> A federal district court in Seattle ruled for Vernor, but in 2010 the Ninth Circuit reversed~~: it~~ held that an Autodesk user is ''"a licensee rather than an owner"'' of the copy, ~~under a test that asks whether the seller grants a license, significantly restricts transfer, & imposes notable use restrictions.<ref name="vernor" /> Because a customer is only a licensee,~~ the [[First-sale doctrine|first sale doctrine]] that normally lets a buyer resell what they bought (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) does not apply, and ~~neither does the essential-step defense for the~~ copy ~~made during installation~~ (17 U.S.C. § 117(a)(1)).<ref name="vernor" />

Autodesk distributes its software under license rather than sale, so a customer never owns the copy. That rule was settled in ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010).<ref name="vernor-cl" /> Timothy Vernor bought several used, boxed copies of AutoCAD Release 14, one at a garage sale and four more from another business that had originally obtained them from Autodesk, and resold them on eBay. Autodesk filed copyright take-down notices to pull the listings, so in 2007 Vernor sued Autodesk to establish that reselling copies he had bought was lawful.<ref name="vernor" /> A federal district court in Seattle first ruled for Vernor, but on appeal in 2010 the Ninth Circuit sided with Autodesk and reversed that decision.<ref name="vernor" /> The court held that an Autodesk user is ''"a licensee rather than an owner"'' of the copy, so the [[First-sale doctrine|first sale doctrine]] that normally lets a buyer resell what they bought (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) does not apply. The practical result: a person who buys Autodesk software cannot legally resell it, and installing a copy without a valid license infringes Autodesk's copyright (17 U.S.C. § 117(a)(1)).<ref name="vernor" />

[[File:Vernor-v-Autodesk-9th-Circuit-holding.png|thumb|center|upright=2.0|In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', the Ninth Circuit ~~held~~ that ~~Autodesk's~~ customers are licensees rather than owners of their copies, so ~~they~~ cannot resell the software ~~or rely on the first-sale doctrine~~.<ref name="vernor" />]]

[[File:Vernor-v-Autodesk-9th-Circuit-holding.png|thumb|center|upright=2.0|In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', the Ninth Circuit sided with Autodesk, ruling that its customers are licensees rather than owners of their copies and so cannot resell the software.<ref name="vernor" />]]

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 == Background ==
-Autodesk distributes its software under license rather than sale, so a customer never owns the copy. The point was settled in ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010).<ref name="vernor-cl" /> Timothy Vernor bought several used, boxed copies of AutoCAD Release 14, one at a garage sale and four more from another business that had originally obtained them from Autodesk, and resold them on eBay. Autodesk filed copyright take-down notices to pull the listings, so Vernor sued in 2007 to establish that reselling copies he had bought was lawful.<ref name="vernor" /> A federal district court in Seattle ruled for Vernor, but in 2010 the Ninth Circuit reversed: it held that an Autodesk user is ''"a licensee rather than an owner"'' of the copy, under a test that asks whether the seller grants a license, significantly restricts transfer, & imposes notable use restrictions.<ref name="vernor" /> Because a customer is only a licensee, the [[First-sale doctrine|first sale doctrine]] that normally lets a buyer resell what they bought (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) does not apply, and neither does the essential-step defense for the copy made during installation (17 U.S.C. § 117(a)(1)).<ref name="vernor" />
+Autodesk distributes its software under license rather than sale, so a customer never owns the copy. That rule was settled in ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', 621 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2010).<ref name="vernor-cl" /> Timothy Vernor bought several used, boxed copies of AutoCAD Release 14, one at a garage sale and four more from another business that had originally obtained them from Autodesk, and resold them on eBay. Autodesk filed copyright take-down notices to pull the listings, so in 2007 Vernor sued Autodesk to establish that reselling copies he had bought was lawful.<ref name="vernor" /> A federal district court in Seattle first ruled for Vernor, but on appeal in 2010 the Ninth Circuit sided with Autodesk and reversed that decision.<ref name="vernor" /> The court held that an Autodesk user is ''"a licensee rather than an owner"'' of the copy, so the [[First-sale doctrine|first sale doctrine]] that normally lets a buyer resell what they bought (17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) does not apply. The practical result: a person who buys Autodesk software cannot legally resell it, and installing a copy without a valid license infringes Autodesk's copyright (17 U.S.C. § 117(a)(1)).<ref name="vernor" />
-[[File:Vernor-v-Autodesk-9th-Circuit-holding.png|thumb|center|upright=2.0|In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', the Ninth Circuit held that Autodesk's customers are licensees rather than owners of their copies, so they cannot resell the software or rely on the first-sale doctrine.<ref name="vernor" />]]
+[[File:Vernor-v-Autodesk-9th-Circuit-holding.png|thumb|center|upright=2.0|In ''Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc.'', the Ninth Circuit sided with Autodesk, ruling that its customers are licensees rather than owners of their copies and so cannot resell the software.<ref name="vernor" />]]