Government Cracks Down on Used CD Sales

The Big Brother economy continues to grow. Up next for Uncle Sam's oversight: Placing restrictions on the sale of used music CDs. Yes, you read that right.

The goal of this legislation, which is popping up in various states around the union and not (yet) on a federal scale, is designed to stem the alleged flood of counterfeit music CDs as well as stolen discs. The rules, currently in effect in Florida and Utah and coming soon to Wisconsin and Rhode Island, stipulate waiting periods (the store can't resell used discs for 30 days in Florida) and/or that stores can only provide store credit, not cash, for used discs (Florida again). Some states even require you to be fingerprinted to sell your old music.

With the relative ease of Internet piracy, I guess I'm just not understanding why it would make any sense at all to counterfeit CDs in America. Would someone actually go to the trouble of copying a disc, creating a label and liner notes for it, then driving to a record store in the hopes of selling it there for a dollar? I guess I just don't see the economics of how that would work. Fake DVDs seem like a more lucrative niche for crooks, but they aren't mentioned in the legislation... yet.

The law has historically been on the consumer's side on issues like this: Once you buy something, you can sell it later without restriction. First software became next to impossible to resell, now music CDs. Will the FTC look into these laws, which are genuinely interfering with commerce? Let's hope so, and soon.

LINK: Record shops: Used CDs? Ihre papieren, bitte!