back to article Motorola legal tie to pull pricey Aura phone off eBay

Once you’ve grown tired of your mobile phone then it’s your prerogative to flog it on eBay, right? Not if you buy Motorola’s upcoming Aura phone, because the firm’s penned a contract to prevent secondhand sales. Aura_03 Motorola's Aura: won't appear on eBay A source close to the company told Register Hardware that in order …

COMMENTS

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  1. Tom Chiverton

    can't sell it on eBay

    There's plenty of other auction services.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    You're kidding

    That much money for ... um ... yeh, well. Judging by the looks of it, they probably don't want it on E-bay for fear it will only bring a fiver if it's lucky. That would be suitably embarasing.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Or you could just give it to someone else to sell

    I'd like to see this in court.

  4. Steve
    Pirate

    not legal in the uk

    IANAL, but contracts cannot alter the law. Assuming the phone is purchased and not leased, once you've bought it, you can do what the hell you like with it, include selling it in the online tat bizarre.

    Motorola are probably counting on people not realising this.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Didn't someone already try this?

    I seem to recall that some "Right to Buy" council house contracts came with a clause stating that if you were selling it within X years of purchase, you could only sell it back to the council.

    I also seem to recall that this went to the courts and a judge ruled that statutory terms of sale overruled the restrictive contract: ie you've bought it, you can sell it to anyone you want.

    So it would appear that, in the UK at least, the only legal way to stop someone selling something is not to let them buy it in the first place.

    Might we see a return to the phone rental model from days of yore?

  6. Dave Murray
    Paris Hilton

    Blow Me!

    Over a grand for a phone! What does it do, suck you off while you make a call?

  7. SImon Hobson Bronze badge
    Thumb Down

    Like to see them take that to court !

    Hmm, lets see now ...

    Illegal control of secondary market. Almost certainly unenforceable under Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations.

    I could see then **trying** to put the frighteners on people, but I doubt they'd ever be stupid enough to actually do anything beyond writing stupid letters.

  8. Sampler
    Thumb Down

    More money than sense?

    Looks crap anyway - and £2k is taking the pish

  9. Mark
    Paris Hilton

    So

    is there something in the contract that lets you off the hook if it is stolen or do you remain liable forever?

    PH - should have had a no onselling contract for those 'documentaries' she made.

  10. It wasnt me

    Errr

    If I own it and I cant sell it then its worthless right? And clearly I do own it cos im spending $2k on acquiring it.

    Now, theres another reason not to get a Motorola phone. As if the fact that theyre shit wasnt enough.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    2 grand to rent a phone?

    Wow, that sounds like a bargain.

  12. Mo

    In the US…

    …this is illegal (First Sale Doctrine).

    Don't know about Blighty or the rest of the EU; I suspect similar measures exist, though.

  13. Seanie Ryan
    Paris Hilton

    hahahahahaha

    great tactic at the start of a global economic downturn. Now this make Apple look like Samaritan. I seriously hope i meet someone with one of these one day.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    Unfair terms in consumer contracts regulations anyone?

    Does this sound like an unenforceable form contract to anyone else? If it was business to business, well, that would be another thing; but it seems to me this does somewhat imbalance the rights of the parties in favour of Motorola. What, say, if someone bought the phone and then didn't like it? It seems fair to make good the loss by selling on. Would a court ever enforce a Motorola claim along these lines?

  15. Andus McCoatover
    Thumb Down

    It's a frigging PHONE, FFS!!!

    Christ-all-bloody-mighty. Mine cost €50, works fine.

    I think you can get a working 1970's BT Trimfone on ebay for the same, which lasts longer. D'ohhhh. More money than sense, some twats.

    Oh, so if I can't sell it, I don't own it? Title of Ownership? So, who does? Rental? Operator? Motorola?

    Effing 'Merkan laws. Daft as brushes. Hope Osama Bin Liner gets in as prez next week. Whatever.

  16. Ash
    Thumb Up

    Rental

    So, you're renting a handset from the manufacturer. For £1.5k

    I wish them ALL the best with that.

  17. Disco-Legend-Zeke
    Paris Hilton

    Doctrine of first sale.

    in the us, supposedly, once a piece of property has been sold, the seller relenquishes rights to it.

    So maybe you are not buying it, just renting with big key money.

    Paris cause she gets big key money.

  18. dervheid

    If I were Motorola

    I'd be more worried about actually being able to sell more than half a dozen of these overpriced fashion statements (it states "I'm a tw*t with no fashion sense and more money than brains") in the first place, than them actually being sold on "for a profit" (LOL) anywhere.

  19. Carl
    Thumb Up

    Double-proof of titness?

    I guess this could be some ploy by Motorola to ensure that only the cream of the crop bell ends buy this phone?

    Let's face it, you'd be a tit for paying $2000 for a phone in the first place, but doing that AND signing this contract is surely reserved for BMW driving 'executive arseholes'?

  20. Ash

    @Mo (First Sale)

    First Sale Doctrine covers copyrighted works, and the right to sell your one licensed copy along with the imposed lincenses from the publisher to a third party. Tangible assets outside of copyrighted material (patented items) are covered by different regulations.

    It all falls down to Staturoty Rights. If transfer of ownership ("Sale") takes place, then the legal owner has the Statutory Right to sell that item. If it does not, e.g. if a contractual clause states that no right to resell is granted, then you can't sell it. It's up to you to decide whether you wish to purchase the item with this in mind, or if you do not want to be restricted. Your choice is to either buy the phone and be restricted, or not buy the phone. That remains your choice, though.

    IANAL, but i'm slightly better informed after reading up on Statutory Rights for the past 5 minutes. As for Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations, after reading it I can't see any indication of restricting sale to a third party as being unfair.

  21. Dan Atkinson
    Linux

    Pleae God let it run Android

    The irony of not being allowed to sell a phone with an open source OS would be beautiful.

    Motorola do know that the fashionista are all Apple devotees don't they? Maybe they should target their own core market like ermmmm i dunno.... ermmmm OK - I give up.

  22. Alexis Vallance
    Thumb Down

    Breach of contract

    I'd be interested to see what would actually happen, since you're breaching the contract. Motorola's only remedy would be recouping their actual losses; I assume from losing a sale. So they'd have to come after you for £2,000, plus they'd probably lock the new buyer out, so he would come after you for £2k too.

    So you could be £4,000k down in theory.

    Which begs the question, why the hell should I buy anything from such a crummy company in the first place?

  23. A J Stiles
    Alert

    Illegal in the UK

    This is illegal in the UK. You have a statutory right to sell your own property, and any term in a contract which seeks to diminish your statutory rights is null and void.

    I say let yourself get taken to court for breach of contract, then plead "no case" and counter-sue Motorola for vexatious litigation.

  24. Someone

    Legality Unimportant

    It’s about persuading eBay not to allow sale through their tat bazaar. eBay refuse to allow the listing of lots of different, completely legal items. If Motorola can get eBay to pull listings for the Aura, they’ll call it a success. If anyone dares to relist, I’m sure Motorola will view the punishment – the loss of all their eBay and PayPal accounts and being banned indefinitely – as a suitable way of showing their appreciation for buying Motorola in the first place.

    If an Aura owner dies (of titness), what happens to the phone? Does the contract require the handset to be placed in the coffin, as a form of grave goods, so that no-one in the world of the living can lay claim to it?

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    I wouldn't mind

    If I had the 2K anything to waste on this and they wanted to pay me 2K to buy it back used...hey, who am I to complain? It they're thinking about paying less than the 2K then I may as well gift it to one o my sprog and let them sell it to anyone they want.

  26. Kevin Gurney

    They're not trying to stop you selling it..........

    they've simply done a deal with Ebay to keep them off the site which is probably the number one place that they'd be sold.

    And in the UK they'll be sold as part of a subsidised contract so does that mean that the phone belongs to you ? Or does it only belong to you when the contract finishes after 18 months ?

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    /blinks

    Umm I'd like to add to the chorus of people asking what does one get when paying two thousand dollars for a FUCKING CELL PHONE?????????????????????? Not only that but a cell phone that looks like it was designed by a mid nineties industrial design school drop out.

    Coat please, cos once again I've seen it all.

  28. Jeremy
    Stop

    Five of your British Pounds...

    ...to the first person to accurately predict when Motorola will try and use the DCMA to get a fleabay listing taken down, claiming unauthorised use of a photo of the phone.

    Someone made the point already, it'll never come to court in any country and Motorola know it. FleaBay are notorious for taking down first and not asking questions later. They'll get it added to the list of banned items and then it will be a Terms of Use violation to try and sell one and Motorola can safely say "now't to do with us, guv'"

    Of course, there are other smaller auction sites, I doubt Motorola will get the same belly-rubbing indulgence from all of them.

  29. muttley
    Thumb Down

    Who cares if it's enforceable or not...

    ...Motorola will have gone bust by then anyway.

    What a piece of junk.

  30. This post has been deleted by its author

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    @Iam Me

    what does one get when paying two thousand dollars for a FUCKING CELL PHONE??????????????????????

    You get Paris for a year, but you also have to feed and clothe her.

    Paris: well, because...

  32. Jay

    Ebay

    will just remove the listing using the VeRo program.

    One of my bike part suppliers has just decided that no one except them can sell their products on ebay. They haven't refused to supply anyone or put anything in writing they just claim you are infringing their copyright and intellectual property if you sell their items.

    I have no doubt Motorola will do exactly the same.

  33. blackworx
    Thumb Up

    @ Someone

    "If an Aura owner dies (of titness)"

    LMAO

  34. John Dougald McCallum
    Gates Horns

    @Jay

    "One of my bike part suppliers has just decided that no one except them can sell their products on ebay."Krazy t$$^s they must have more brass than sense

    Evil Bill cos he does the same.

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    over priced

    who would buy this phone anyway its over priced for starters it dosnt have many advanced features its ugly need i go on.........

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