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So if I can't sell my Rosetta Stone - what CAN I do with it?


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EBay canceled my auction for RS Japanese last year, saying it was against the copyright to resell it.

 

Fortunately I already had several bidders when they closed it, and I ended up selling it privately.

 

I couldn't find anywhere in the documentation it came with or online that I wasn't supposed to resell it though.

 

From what I can tell, it's only the homeschool edition that can't be resold and I don't know if it's EBay's policy or came from Rosetta Stone.

 

Kris

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EBay canceled my auction for RS Japanese last year, saying it was against the copyright to resell it.

 

Fortunately I already had several bidders when they closed it, and I ended up selling it privately.

 

I couldn't find anywhere in the documentation it came with or online that I wasn't supposed to resell it though.

 

From what I can tell, it's only the homeschool edition that can't be resold and I don't know if it's EBay's policy or came from Rosetta Stone.

 

Kris

 

EBay policy - they don't allow homeschoolers to sell homeschool items as such, and they don't allow sales of teacher's manuals, etc., without some sort of special permission. I couldn't sell a couple of things on there using the ISBN numbers to generate more info, as they then came up as teacher's guides.

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  • 1 year later...

Sadly, although the older RS was "sellable;" the newer ones are not. If you read the fine print, you are buying a license not a product. You can only use it on three (? possibly 4) computers even if you own them all and cannot resell it.

 

I don't think ebay's actions had anything to do with homeschooling or the teacher's edition issues.

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As I understand it you cannot resell. I would think you couldn't donate for the same reason. You get a license for three computers when you buy rosetta stone. Every time you activate it on computer you use a license. If you get a new computer you should call Rosetta stone tech support to deactivate on the old computer. That way you don't use a new license when you put it on your new one.

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Sadly, although the older RS was "sellable;" the newer ones are not. If you read the fine print, you are buying a license not a product. You can only use it on three (? possibly 4) computers even if you own them all and cannot resell it.

 

Or so Rosetta Stone would like it to be. I see their "buying a license not a product" and raise them one First Sale Doctrine. You bought it, it's yours. Sell it, keep it, donate it, eat it: it's yours. Even supposedly "licensed, not purchased" software.

 

So far, afaik, the courts agree.

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You could also try to sell it at a PHYSICAL used curriculum sale. However, that doesn't mean that you live near anyplace with enough organized HSers to do it. :confused:

 

I bought my RS Italian at one of these for $15. I was so excited. Mine is the older one though... I always figured I could sell it. Guess not.

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I bought my RS Italian at one of these for $15. I was so excited. Mine is the older one though... I always figured I could sell it. Guess not.

 

Lucky duck! I paid full price, $210 for French level 1 and that's alot of money to be out, especially because we don't like the program at all. :(

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EBay canceled my auction for RS Japanese last year, saying it was against the copyright to resell it.

 

Fortunately I already had several bidders when they closed it, and I ended up selling it privately.

 

I couldn't find anywhere in the documentation it came with or online that I wasn't supposed to resell it though.

 

From what I can tell, it's only the homeschool edition that can't be resold and I don't know if it's EBay's policy or came from Rosetta Stone.

 

Kris

 

Actually this is different from the no Teacher Editions issue, and it does apply to both the homeschool and full versions. If you read the fine print you are only purchasing a license to use the product not the product itself. Thus you cannot sell it because you don't own it in the first place.

 

Ebay actually took a step back from their no Teacher Editions policy, usually allowing easy to purchase hs materials. They still are careful about any product you have to provide proof of schooling with. For example if you order from PHP you have to call in and set up a homeschooling account, you can't just go online and by teacher material.

 

Heather

 

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If you read the fine print you are only purchasing a license to use the product not the product itself. Thus you cannot sell it because you don't own it in the first place.

 

But this isn't true. Yes, it says that in the fine print; and Rosetta Stone would like you to believe it, and they have the clout to get eBay to enforce it. But you CAN sell it, you DO own it, and you DID buy the product yourself. This is well-established law under the first-sale doctrine, and while there was momentarily some uncertainty about the application of the doctrine to software, every court case has upheld that the doctrine applies to software.

 

You bought it and it's yours. Sell it if you like, without a single ethical qualm.

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The first sale doctrine as applied to software is interesting, and the courts have yet to make any final determinations. At this point in time, licensing has not been declared illegal, so software companies will try to prevent resale of software by claiming that the license is non-transferable.

 

If you do buy version 3 used, be sure that it has been deregistered from the original owner's computers, and that the Activation ID will be included along with the discs. The owner has to follow the instructions on this page, and then contact Rosetta Stone with both the Activation ID and the Deactivation Code to complete the deactivation process. Buyer beware: if buying from an unknown seller, you take the risk that the software is already registered to other computers!

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  • 3 years later...
Guest foobarbaz

The first sale doctrine as applied to software is interesting, and the courts have yet to make any final determinations. At this point in time, licensing has not been declared illegal, so software companies will try to prevent resale of software by claiming that the license is non-transferable.

 

If you do buy version 3 used, be sure that it has been deregistered from the original owner's computers, and that the Activation ID will be included along with the discs. The owner has to follow the instructions on this page, and then contact Rosetta Stone with both the Activation ID and the Deactivation Code to complete the deactivation process. Buyer beware: if buying from an unknown seller, you take the risk that the software is already registered to other computers!

 

Licensing is of course not illegal, but a license is a contract. For there to be a contract, both parties have to have an opportunity to review it, and must BOTH agree to it.  One way is by the parties to meet and verbally agree to the contract. Another is for them both to sign a written document that outlines the details of the agreement.

 

A piece of paper stuck inside a shrink-wrapped box, that says "by opening this box you have agreed to this" is NOT a valid contract.

 

If you walk into a retail store, pick up a physical box, take it to the checkout, hand the clerk some cash, and walk out of the store with the box, you have made a PURCHASE. (Ditto if you follow the similar procedure in an "online" store and wait for the physical box to be mailed to you) You have not negotiated any contracts or agreed to any licenses. The physical contents of that box are YOUR PROPERTY, regardless of what any pieces of paper in the box might say.

 

And the section of US Copyright Law commonly referred to as the "First Sale Doctrine" applies.

 

Yes, the original seller of the contents of the box might make it difficult or impossible for someone you sell it to, via an "online" activation scheme, to do anything useful with that box or its contents other that using it as a paperweight or to hold a rock collection, or they can make you jump through special hoops "transferring" to avoid that consequence, but they do NOT have the legal authority to enjoin you from reselling the box or its contents.

 

In other words, they can cause the resale value of their products to be absolute crap, and they can even induce certain controlled marketplaces (such as eBay) to make their own rules prohibiting their items from being resold.

 

But they can't stop you from selling it, outside of that.

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  • 1 year later...
Guest Inky092

I know this is an older posting, but if anyone has a japanese, korean, chinese, or arabic set they would like to get rid of, please let me know. Thanks guys

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I read some of the responses, but not all of them, so forgive me if this has been said already.  But it's not just that they won't allow to you resell, they make it physically impossible for you to do so.  You are not able to completely uninstall it from your computer without contacting Rosetta Stone.  Only they can give you the code to completely deactivate it, and they will not do so.  When you sell to someone else, it will work for about 5 lessons and then quit working.  Ask me how I know.  

 

We spent quite a bit of money for a used version, it quit working after 5 lessons, we tried everything.  When I researched it online, I found that I wasn't the only one it has happened to.  

 

People used to complain that sellers were ripping them off by selling them a faulty product that quit working, but I think it is Rosetta Stone that set it up that way.

 

edited for typos

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Yep.  What Keri said.  I had a hard time getting a third install (one dead computer replaced by a new one in our house), not to mention their customer service is really subpar when we had a hard time with it glitching every time we used it.  I eventually just trashed our 5 level set.  Duolingo provides the same sort of lessons and is completely free, so I'm not wasting my money on a "limited use" product again.

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  • 2 months later...

It was very startling to get likes on a post I wrote five years ago! I would add that I Am Not A Lawyer, and nobody should take legal advice off the internet.

 

Now, back to the Zombie Thread....

 

 

Teehee, I just "liked" one of your posts again, not realizing I had  "liked" it 5 years ago.  That resulted in "unliking" it instead, so I had to "like" it again.

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  • 10 months later...

I am very late on replying to this thread. In the End License Agreement, which can be found on Rosetta Stone's website, it clearly states that the license granted to those that buy the program is "nontransferable". Clearly, once you are done with the software (which is the license in physical form) one is to simply throw this away and NOT transfer the license (the software) to another else. You agree to use it the software for yourself and those inside of your household unit and then discard it. While in our materialistic society this seems absurd, clear to throw it away is the only way to not transfer to license to someone else, which is against the agreement signed and thus against the law. 

 

I am not giving legal advice here, but merely reminding you to read through the End License Agreement and you see that I merely have reposted this agreements that are agreed to upon entering Rosetta Stone learning. I hope this might have helped!!

Edited by Jsommer7345
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............and this is why we switched to Duolingo.  I trashed our set after trying to work with Rosetta Stone's customer service (had two computers die close to each other, trying to get the ability to install on new computers was like pulling teeth.)

 

I won't use their product again.  It's glitchy, their customer service is subpar, you don't always get what you pay for (the homeschool edition we bought had NOTHING that made it a homeschool edition), and other people make similar products that are better.  I should have stuck to my rule of "if it's sold in the middle of a mall, walk away."

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On their website??? You're kidding, right? And where is this "signed agreement"? I didn't sign any such agreement when I purchased my Rosetta Stone.

 

A direct question: are you employed by Rosetta Stone? Forgive my suspicion, but "entering Rosetta Stone learning" is salespeak.

 

 

 

I am very late on replying to this thread. In the End License Agreement, which can be found on Rosetta Stone's website, it clearly states that the license granted to those that buy the program is "nontransferable". Clearly, once you are done with the software (which is the license in physical form) one is to simply throw this away and NOT transfer the license (the software) to another else. You agree to use it the software for yourself and those inside of your household unit and then discard it. While in our materialistic society this seems absurd, clear to throw it away is the only way to not transfer to license to someone else, which is against the agreement signed and thus against the law.

 

I am not giving legal advice here, but merely reminding you to read through the End License Agreement and you see that I merely have reposted this agreements that are agreed to upon entering Rosetta Stone learning. I hope this might have helped!!

Edited by Violet Crown
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On their website??? You're kidding, right? And where is this "signed agreement"? I didn't sign any such agreement when I purchased my Rosetta Stone.

 

A direct question: are you employed by Rosetta Stone? Forgive my suspicion, but "entering Rosetta Stone learning" is salespeak.

 

My thoughts as well. I'm sure he is. First post and and all.

 

 

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I was under the impression that once I put RS on my computer, it couldn't be used again on another computer unless I had it deactivated from mine. I have the home school edition and would love to have just given it away to friends who couldn't afford it, but it seemed dishonest somehow, knowing their policy. Plus, I don't know how to deactivate it on one computer to put it on another computer without calling RS to walk me through it and I wouldn't want to lie about sharing it with someone outside of my house hold.'It does seem unfair that after a year of using it I couldn't then sell it like I would a textbook or set of cds. But maybe I am confused about it all.

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Many public libraries that used to offer RS now offer Mango.  And they even offer Latin, lol.  DH used to see them a lot at library conferences and he told them that homeschoolers were a big market for them b/c of how RS had stopped allowing libraries to license etc.  He mentioned Latin, sort of as a joke, and a year later they had it. 

 

Anyway, Mango has a lot of languages available

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Many public libraries that used to offer RS now offer Mango.  And they even offer Latin, lol.  DH used to see them a lot at library conferences and he told them that homeschoolers were a big market for them b/c of how RS had stopped allowing libraries to license etc.  He mentioned Latin, sort of as a joke, and a year later they had it. 

 

Anyway, Mango has a lot of languages available

Is Mango available for purchase or is it just a library program? I went on the Mango website, and I was confused. Unfortunately for me, no libraries around here seem to offer this program.

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Is Mango available for purchase or is it just a library program? I went on the Mango website, and I was confused. Unfortunately for me, no libraries around here seem to offer this program.

 

I don't know. I've only interacted with it as an online library program.  I think it is an online subscription? When I look at the homeschool part, it says 20$ a month for a 'teacher subscription' that covers yourself and 5 students. There are also tests etc which isn't part of the library program.

 

That is actually a pretty good deal..

 

http://mangolanguages.com/homeschool/

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A free and good-quality option is Foreign Service Institute (FSI) language materials, available from multiple sites. It's old but good; 40+ languages; public domain because paid for by our tax money. Great Girl learned good German conversational skills from it; it's helping Middle Girl greatly with her French.

 

https://www.livelingua.com/fsi-language-courses.php

Edited by Violet Crown
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Many public libraries that used to offer RS now offer Mango.  And they even offer Latin, lol.  DH used to see them a lot at library conferences and he told them that homeschoolers were a big market for them b/c of how RS had stopped allowing libraries to license etc.  He mentioned Latin, sort of as a joke, and a year later they had it. 

 

Anyway, Mango has a lot of languages available

 

thank you so much for sharing this!! I did not know about this and my library offers it!

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  • 9 months later...

You're probably not still in the market, but if you are, we have a Mandarin version that we've never used that we're trying to sell.

 

I know this is an older posting, but if anyone has a japanese, korean, chinese, or arabic set they would like to get rid of, please let me know. Thanks guys

 

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