Imagining a Swap Meet for E-Books and Music; New York Times, 3/7/13

David Streitfeld, New York Times; Imagining a Swap Meet for E-Books and Music: "On Thursday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published Apple’s application for its own patent for a digital marketplace. Apple’s application outlines a system for allowing users to sell or give e-books, music, movies and software to each other by transferring files rather than reproducing them. Such a system would permit only one user to have a copy at any one time. Meanwhile, a New York court is poised to rule on whether a start-up that created a way for people to buy and sell iTunes songs is breaking copyright law. A victory for the company would mean that consumers would not need either Apple’s or Amazon’s exchange to resell their digital items... Libraries, though, welcome the possibility of loosened restrictions on digital material. “The vast majority of e-books are not available in your public library,” said Brandon Butler, director of public policy initiatives for the Association of Research Libraries. “That’s pathetic.” He said that 60 percent of what the association’s 125 members buy was electronic, which meant sharp restrictions on use."