Paul told you that the law book publisher Aspen Publishers had demanded –through a licensing scheme aimed at getting around copyright law's first-sale doctrine –that purchasers return books they had bought from Aspen at the end of the semester. Why? What better way to dry up the used-book market and increase profits in new books.
Aspen's policy drew intense criticism, with a petition drive and promises from law professors to boycott Aspen books. Now, as law professor Josh Blackmun reports, Aspen has caved in part:
Aspen has updated their policy. Now, students now have a choice: they can buy a physical book to keep, or buy a digital version and print version, and return the latter. I’m not happy with the second option, but I’ll declare a partial victory and withdraw my petition. See more here.
