17 U.S.C.A. § 109
United
States Code Annotated Currentness
Chapter 1. Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright
§ 109. Limitations on exclusive rights: Effect of transfer of particular copy or phonorecord
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions
of section 106(3), the owner of a particular copy or phonorecord
lawfully made under this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is
entitled, without the authority of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise
dispose of the possession of that copy or phonorecord. . . .
(b)(1)(A) Notwithstanding the provisions
of subsection (a), unless authorized by the owners of
copyright in the sound recording or the owner of copyright in a computer
program (including any tape, disk, or other medium embodying such program),
and in the case of a sound recording in the musical
works embodied therein, neither the owner of
a particular phonorecord nor any person in possession of a particular
copy of a computer program (including any tape, disk, or other medium embodying
such program), may, for the purposes of direct or indirect commercial
advantage, dispose of, or authorize the disposal of, the possession
of that phonorecord or computer program (including any tape, disk, or other
medium embodying such program) by rental, lease, or
lending, or by any other act or practice in the nature of rental, lease,
or lending. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall apply to the rental, lease,
or lending of a phonorecord for nonprofit purposes by
a nonprofit library or nonprofit educational institution. The transfer of
possession of a lawfully made copy of a computer program by a nonprofit educational
institution to another nonprofit educational institution or to faculty, staff,
and students does not constitute rental, lease, or lending for direct or indirect
commercial purposes under this subsection.
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(4) Any person who distributes a phonorecord or
a copy of a computer program (including any tape, disk, or other medium embodying
such program) in violation of paragraph (1) is an infringer
of copyright under section 501 of this title and is subject to the remedies set
forth in sections 502, 503, 504, 505, and 509. Such violation shall not be a criminal offense under section 506 or cause such person to be subject to the criminal
penalties set forth in section 2319 of title 18.
(c) Notwithstanding the
provisions of section 106(5), the owner of a particular copy lawfully made
under this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without
the authority of the copyright owner, to display that copy publicly, either
directly or by the projection of no more than one image at a time, to viewers
present at the place where the copy is located.
(d) The privileges
prescribed by subsections (a) and (c) do not, unless authorized by the
copyright owner, extend to any person who has acquired possession
of the copy or phonorecord from the copyright owner, by rental, lease, loan, or
otherwise, without acquiring ownership of it.