Amazon looks to sell 'Used' ebooks, digital music

The digital equivalent of used books and music may soon be available for online purchase from retailer Amazon.com, a tech site reported this week.

 

But this may also trigger a conflict over the meaning of ownership in the digital world between online retailers and content creators, SingularityHub.com said.

The move coincides with debates in the Philippines over controversial amendments to the country's Intellectual Property Law which have direct impact on the consumption and resale of digital material.  

Amazon was recently awarded by the US Patent and Trademark Office with a patent for a "Secondary Market For Digital Objects," a marketplace for the transfer of used digital objects.

 

Such objects may include ebooks, audio, images, video, and even apps, with the patent indicating transfers "may include a sale, a rental, a gift, a loan, a trade, etc.”

 

"Clearly, a secondhand marketplace for digital objects is coming. How extensive it is, what limitations will be built into it, and who will be the major and minor players are still unknown. Regardless, it is just one more way that the digital world is trumping the physical and changing the consumer landscape," SingularityHub.com said.

 

The patent describes the architecture for the software that would support such a secondary digital marketplace.

 

"Amazon already has a thriving marketplace for used physical objects, but this signals the first time a major online retailer intends to introduce a means to resell digital objects," SingularityHub.com said.

 

However, it is not immediately known how much users may receive for transferring their digital goods, or what Amazon will charge for the service.

 

Neither is it clear at this time if the originators of the content would receive any compensation.

 

Calling foul

 

This early, SingularityHub.com said many businesses and content creators are crying foul over Amazon’s move.

 

"The issue at hand is rooted in how we think about physical objects. When we purchase something new, we expect that it has come directly from the manufacturer and is free of any kind of damage, aging, or wear-and-tear. If someone else has owned it, we typically place less value on it, even if it is in pristine state (unless its value has increased because it is rare)," it said.

 

Now, the question is to determine how a digital file becomes “used.” Amazon's answer? A “preowned” label rather than “used.”

 

File transfer

 

Amazon particularly wants a system to track how many times a file has been transferred between users. Its patent describes doing this with a series of personalized data stores.

 

One positive of this kind of system is that resale prices could be much more gradual than often happens with used items, SingularityHub.com said.

 

"For instance, looking at the used physical books that Amazon already sells, the difference in price between a new book and book in very good condition can be significant while the difference between books in very good and good condition may be marginal. But if an ebook was deemed eligible for four transfers, for example, the difference in prices between each transfer should be much more tiered," it said.

 

But the report also said Amazon would likely only launch such a service if it can charge enough on transfers to make up for what it loses on new sales.

 

"Currently, the closest thing it has is the ability to borrow an ebook on a Kindle device, though the ebook can only be borrowed once," SingularityHub.com said. — TJD, GMA News