In an age where more and more people are turning to the Internet as a way to sell their e-books, articles, photos and more, the requirements for digital resale rights have become more prevalent. Digital resale rights are degrees of rights granted by varying copyright licenses. These rights permit the buyer to sell copies of the product or material to third parties, an act that would have otherwise been prohibited by copyright law without the permission of the copyright holder.
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Resale rights and the rights granted to a purchaser is a complex issue involving intellectual property laws and distribution laws. Most resale packages do not permit the alteration of contents or change of information. However, several variations of resale rights exist so it is important to read the disclaimers included with the product.
Seller’s maintain the right to specify what portion of their legal rights they are willing to transfer to the proposed buyer, which results in a nearly unlimited surplus of potential license arrangements. The most commonly sought after type of digital resale rights agreement is the ‘simple transfer of basic resell rights”. This agreement states that the buyer may copy the product and sell it to a third-party. However, the third-party is not entitled to resell the product. There may be stipulations in affect regarding things such as product sale price (Giveaway rights are similar to Resale Rights, except that the buyer may sell the product at their own set rate, or may even give the product away free of charge.) . Digital products that come with resell rights allow the holder to sell the product to any market group and retain 100% of the profits; the sold product must only include Personal Use Only rights and cannot come with the right to resell the product.
Another common form of digital resell license is the ‘Master Digital Resell Rights.” Acquiring master resell rights permits the buyer to sell the product to a consumer and also grant the consumer the right to resell it. Without expressed permission, the purchaser may not alter or change the product in any form. Branding rights may also be included with Master Resale Rights. Branding rights permit the buyer a limited legal right to alter the product by adding their own advertising materials such as logos and links.
While some resell rights are more complex than others, ‘Private Label Rights’, perhaps the broadest digital resell rights available are granted short of an outright transfer of copyright. Private label rights permit the purchaser to advertise the work as their own and to rewrite or modify the content. Take caution in reviewing the resell agreement to confirm what is permitted to be altered when purchasing private label rights. Unrestricted resell rights provide the owner with a legal right to treat the purchased product as something created by them. It may be altered in any form. However, it may not include resell rights. Usage may be restricted to personal projects.
E-books, videos, software, photos and more have become some of the most profitable resell products on a world-wide scale with the increased access of the internet. Be certain to carefully review the legalities and cautions included in any resell license before purchase to avoid threat of copyright or legal infringements. What may be perceived as unrestricted is not always as it appears.