소프트웨어 중고거래에 관한 저작권법적 해석과 문제점

초록

The emerging business model of second-hand software transaction has brought legal discussions in Germany and Europe, in particular on the extent o f application o f the exhaustion principle in a digital environment. The transaction o f second-hand software via internet raises legal issues for software vendors and customers. Generally, the legality of software resale is decided by whether the distribution right o f an copyright owner is exhausted upon the transaction. In tradition, the purchaser o f software may resell the software as the copyright holder’s distribution right is exhausted upon the purchase. A licensed user will infringe copyrights by reselling the software as the licensee is not empowered to sell the software. However, it is difficult to decide when a transaction should be regarded as licensing or sale . Furthermore, the extent o f application o f the exhaustion principle in copyright law is still uncertain as its issues are mixed with the issue o f whether the transaction is a sale o f goods or services. This paper analyses ECJ s UsedSoft v. Oracle decision and the decision’simpact on contents transaction model in a digital environment.

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