Digital exhaustion of copyright after CJEU judgment in Ranks and Vasiļevičs

In reality, the debate could be simplified by looking at rights rather than copies. With regard to the supply of digital content, the simultaneous existence of a material-object and licence contract should be recognised. The former can be a sales or service contract. On-line deliveries are services. Whoever holds a right to a service, can principally transfer that right and the licence to third parties. Applying the same rationales that underlie the exhaustion doctrine would mean that clauses preventing such transfers are void. The actual exhaustion doctrine however need not be applied.