In a recent GripeLog column I described how Time Warner was claiming the right to block eBay auctions of a Madonna CD that came with a jeans purchase at Gap stores. Readers had some choice comments about how copyright holders and eBay employ the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) in such circumstances.
"This is a good example of how ridiculous this has gotten," wrote one reader. "The music and software industries claim this costs them sales. But in a giveaway there are no sales!! And doesn't it benefit Time Warner to get the disk into the hands of a fan, instead of a landfill? But the idea that any money could change hands without them getting a piece clearly drives them nuts. I'm hoping that as the next generation becomes the pop musicians of the time, they will just skip the record companies completely -- or form their own."
"Does this mean that any CD you get as a promo item can't be sold because some idiot at the recording company has decided that a promotional item can't be resold?" asked another reader. "What about the baseball caps that people got as promo items from Pepsi? Or any other promo item that had a limited production and could sorta kinda maybe be considered a collectible? ... eBay, you like to profit from the free enterprise system, but heaven forbid you should let others do the same when the big dogs bark."
One reader mused on the possibility vendors outside the software arena would try to ban "reverse engineering" of their products. "I was wondering if some day cutting of the legs on a pair of brand name jeans to make shorts or some other alteration may be some sort of violation of the jeans company's ‘rights,’ since it could be interpreted as altering the appearance of one of their products which may affect the public's opinion of the product. For that matter, what if someone saw a homeless person wearing a worn out, obviously second- or third-hand sweater with the Gap or Old Navy logo on it? Wouldn't that be presenting a negative image about what sort of people shop at these stores or wear their merchandise? This may sound silly now, but I could see it happening in the future."
11:33:12 AM 
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