On 3 July 2012, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the principle of exhaustion of the distribution right not only applies to physical copies of software, but also to software that is legally downloaded from the internet. Someone who buys a used software license is considered as lawful acquirer of the copy of the computer program and may download that copy from the copyright holder's website.

Remarkably, the Court does not share the view of Advocate General Bot, who gave his opinion about this case in April. The Advocate General stated that downloading a new copy of the software is reproduction and does not fall under the scope of the right of distribution. According to him, the second acquirer of a computer program couldn't rely on the exhaustion principle, even if the first acquirer has erased his copy or no longer uses it. 

For more details and the facts of the case, please read our previous article about this lawsuit. 

Source: Court of Justice of the European Union Press Release

By: Marjolein van der Heide