ReDigi’s Back With “Pre-owned” Digital Music Sales Based On Fresh Patent
ReDigi made a splash back in 2011 when it launched a marketplace for resale of digital files. A big product was music and, not surprisingly, they were the focus of legal efforts that eventually went against them and forced them to retreat last spring. Now they're back with a new patent that they claim will allow them a legal way to move forward. ReDigi is currently up in the U.S. and offering music for resale with plans for software, ebooks and audiobooks.
ReDigi has been at the center of attempts to create a digital resale market that would allow consumers to resale digital tracks and other files that they purchased.
Terms of service typically declare that those purchases are basically rentals and that you haven't bought anything to be resold. However ReDigi challenged that agreement and proposed that such files should be treated as resalable items.
ReDigi lost their battle last year and the ruling against them drew on the fact that they still had to make digital copies to provide the service nullifying the idea that they were reselling original digital files.
Now ReDigi's back, their site's up (though I'm not sure it was ever totally down) and they're trying again because they've got a new patent which includes the following "methods and apparatuses":
Verification Engine – A mechanism that analyzes each digital media file that enters the ReDigi system to ensure that it is legally eligible for resale.
Atomic Transaction – A cloud-based mechanism that instantaneously transfers an "original" good from one owner to the next, without making a copy.
Removal and Monitoring Mechanism – A digital management application that helps sellers identify and ensure personal-use copies of the sold media are removed.
So now ReDigi will retest the concept of "copy-less" digital resales.
More:
- Court Says No To ReDigi MP3 Resales, Company Vows To Continue
- Apple Joins Digital Resale Movement. Ready For Even Less MP3 Revenue?
- ReDigi Allows Artists To Profit From The Resale Of Their Digital Music
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (Twitter/Facebook) is currently relaunching All World Dance. To suggest topics about music tech, DIY music biz or music marketing for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
