OK, then how is software different from books, or movies, or music.
A decision that will no doubt help lawyers make their house, car, and kid’s college tuition payments for years to come.
The first sale doctrine, which provides that the copyright owner’s exclusive distribution right ends upon the first sale of the product, is written into the copyright act. The text of the statute provides that it applies to books and phonorecords. That’s the difference.
It's a little complicated, and this isn't my area of law so my answer probably won't be as precise as it should be, but they really aren't significantly different.
When you buy a movie, a book or music DVD, you are agreeing to an implicit license - that license it allows you to enjoy your Book/CD/DVD so long as you enjoy it yourself, or in the privacy of your own home. The implicit license does not allow you to play that CD/DVD in a commercial setting - like at a bar or club (unless you've paid ASCAP or BMI fees). That is the limitation of the license. Nor, are you allowed to copy that CD/DVD or book - again, another limitation of the implicit license.
The software license is an expressly articulated license. The buyer, upon purchase and installation of the software, agrees (enters into contract) to behave in a certain way. If the buyer does not wish to behave in a certain way, he does not have to buy and install the software.
Since I haven't familiarized myself with the relevant case law, I may be wrong here, but I don't believe its disallowed to resell unopened software. IOW, I could buy MS Office from Best Buy, and then sell it to you so long as the box is unopened. So, in the strictest sense, just like with movies/cds, I can resell software. I just can't resell it after installation.
Actually movies and software are different according to the courts. At least they have fought over the colorization of black and white movies and parents wanting to edit out objectional scenes. On the other hand apparently once you buy a book, you are free to tear pages out that you don’t like.
Crazy times we live in, all because congress refused to follow the constitution on copyright and patent expiration law. All to protect Mickey Mouse from being used in Porno, which as I recall was available 60s ago.