Crystal purchased several video games on her last trip to Japan. Upon returning to the U.S., she found that these video games did not play on her game console. She looked on eBay for a boot disc that would enable her to play these Japanese versions on her computer. Although she found some boot discs listed in auctions, these items are both against the law and against eBay policy.

Erin was cleaning out her closet and found some game enhancers her son used when playing imported video games. She wanted to sell these game enhancers in order to make a little extra money. Upon reading the eBay help pages, however, she learned that these items are against the law and help others to infringe the copyrights of others. After realizing this, Erin decided not to list the game enhancers on eBay in order not to jeopardize her account.

For more information on copyrights, see any of the following sources:

• U.S. Copyright Office

• Avoiding Trademark, Patent and Copyright Problems (Franklin Pierce Law Center)

• FACE (Friends of Copyright Education)

Video games, movies, and other media are often created and licensed to function in a certain part of the world. Production rights and licensing rights are a part of copyright protection. When people devise ways to get around this licensing, they are violating the law and the rights of the copyright owner. This policy helps sellers comply with the law and intellectual property rights owners protect their rights.