Can I sell a book on amazon?

[esfl1]

I recently purchased the paperback book Speaking On Cruise Ships by Daniel Hall. I purchased it at Target's online store.

There is a warning in bold on the copyright page which states that this book may not be resold without permission from the author and violators will be prosecuted.

Amazon is filled with books people like me have purchased, read and then sold used.

How can Mr Hall control a product I purchased and now own? Why can't I sell my used book on Amazon after I read it? Why is his book different than the millions of others that are published each year? Why is he allowed to threaten readers with legal action?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

The answer to your question about a physical book can be found in the "First Sale Doctrine" and a quote from Wikipedia is below:

The first-sale doctrine is a limitation on copyright that was recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1908 and subsequently codified in the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 109. The doctrine allows the purchaser to transfer (i.e., sell or give away) a particular lawfully made copy of the copyrighted work without permission once it has been obtained. That means that a copyright holder's rights to control the change of ownership of a particular copy end once that copy is sold, as long as no additional copies are made. This doctrine is also referred to as the "first sale rule" or "exhaustion rule".

First Sale Doctrine Explained

I looked at an online introduction to the book and it says they will prosecute anyone against reselling the book without their permission - but the first line is about unauthorized duplication and storage of the book in a database, etc. While it could be a scare tactic, I'm wondering if this just wasn't a poorly worded warning against people who would duplicate the book online, e.g. a PDF, and then resell the book. That's my guess - leave it to an attorney and/or publisher to create a poorly worded copyright notice?