“Apple filed a patent application Thursday to create a marketplace for used digital goods,” Laura Hazard Owen reports for paidContent. “The description is similar to the idea behind the patent that Amazon won approval for in February. Unlike Amazon’s patent, however, Apple’s possible system outlines the ways in which publishers could profit from the resale of digital goods.”

“Apple’s patent application describes a system that would allow users to transfer access to digital content — ‘such as an ebook, music, movie, software application’ — to others,” Owen reports. “As we noted last month, users’ rights to resell digital content is a contentious issue under current U.S. copyright law. This year, a court will rule on whether startup ReDigi, which allows users to resell digital music, is legal. Last year, the European Court of Justice ruled that users have the right to resell downloaded software.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers "Fred Mertz" and "Billy Cal" for the heads up.]