Some companies distribute "promotional copies" of movies, albums, or events to publicise the works before they are released to the public. Promotional items are permitted on eBay. However, many rights owners believe that listing these items infringes on their copyrights. Listing such items could therefore result in the ending of a listing if a member of eBay’s Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Programme reports the items as infringing their rights. When a rights owner reports a listing to eBay as one that infringes their rights, eBay is required by law to remove the listing.
Violations of this policy may result in a range of actions, including:
Limits placed on account privileges
Loss of PowerSeller status
Record companies often distribute "promo" CDs to radio stations to encourage airplay of their music. Movie and television studios often distribute "demo" videos to video stores so they can decide how many copies of a particular video title they want to buy; "screener" or "awards" videos to Academy Awards or Emmy Awards voters; 35mm movie trailers (previews) to movie theatres; posters; and electronic press kits (EPKs). If one of these companies is a member of eBay’s VeRO programme and reports a listing of one of their promo items on eBay, eBay is required to remove the listing.
Why does eBay have this policy?
eBay is providing this information to help sellers protect themselves from listing infringing items on eBay. Sellers with questions should contact the relevant company to see if items can be sold or bought without risk of infringement.
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