Re: image of book jacket used to sell used book

On Wed, 26 Jul 2000, Robert Smith <smithre[_at_]mail.ctsfw.edu> wrote:
>
> Someone owns a copy of a used book. They wish to sell it on Ebay.
> To do so, they propose to scan the jacket and make it a part of
> their listing.
>
> I'd advise they seek permission from the publisher to do this.
>
> Am I correct, or am I missing an obscure fair use principle?

People have been publishing advertisements and catalogs including pictures of the books offered for sale for, oh, a hundred years or so. It seems to me that it's a little late to claim that the owner of a book doesn't have the right to use a picture of the book in an attempt to sell it.

(Once again, people worry about fair use, but I'm much more concerned about attacks on the first sale doctrine.)

-- 
John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl/
Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail