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The Federal Supreme Court and the distribution of used software license

The Federal Supreme Court decided that it is possible to commercialize used software licenses (in a ruling from July 18, 2013, reference number I ZR 129/08). Thus the BGH follows the EuGH (see the ruling made on July 7, 2012, Rs. C-128/11).

The buyer of used software, downloading the programs interferes in the right of the initial licensee (see § 69c number 1 UrhG) to duplicate the programs. The point is, as decided by the First Civil Chamber of the Federal Court of Justice with regard to the decision made by the European Court of Justice, that the buyer of used software is the legal owner of a copy of a programm who has the right to reproduce it. A further sale is admitted in case the buyer proceeds to download the copy of the program directly from the copyright holder's website. Furthermore it is to establish if the subsequent purchase can refer to the exhaustion of the right of distribution. As for the injunction procedure we refer to (Oracle against the German company Used soft) it is to clarify if certain criteria are met. For this reason the Federal court of Justice refers the case back to the Higher Regional Court Munich.