Can I resell my MP3's> - the post-sale life of digital goods

Can you own an idea? In the era of digital content, this is a question that seems to be occluded by questions of copyright and ownership, but resides fundamentally at the heart of the issue. Although it is understood that the creator holds copyright with regards to the content created, the question of ownership is much murkier when content is duplicated for mass consumption. Who owns those duplicates? What rights are extended to the purchasers when content comes into their possession? Do they have resale rights? At what point does the original content creator relinquish their rights to the purchaser, if ever?

These questions highlight the difficulty of assigning ownership and possession to the intangible. Tangibility or the lack thereof is digital media's Achilles heel. The problem is that by its nature a tangible product or commodity is obviously limited in how many copies can be made of it. This is not true for digital goods. The simple act of transmission implies that it is being duplicated. A physical commodity does not have this characteristic. It can be resold, borrowed, but it is not duplicated in the process. In essence, tangibility is a counter agent to duplicability.

If we look at the definition of the word counterfeit:

... is an imitation that is made usually with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins.

It is rooted in the physical nature of a commodity. Can the term "counterfeit" be applied to digital media when a copy is as perfect as the original? Does it deceptively represent its content? I think not.

There are those that will argue that media can be counterfeited. CDs, DVDs, books, can all be duplicated. This is true, but what is actually being counterfeited - the medium which delivers the content or the content itself? Ultimately, physical artifacts serve as simple distribution mechanisms. They only serve as repositories for the ideas/content they transport. This leads to a more accurate definition of media - as an amalgamation of physical distribution mechanism and content.

Most of our consumer rights focus on this the tangible asset as the focus of copyright. Once you remove the distribution mechanism out of the equation however and are left with dissociated content, what you actually own is an idea - a cultural meme without physical constraints. Can something this ephemeral ever be constrained to individual ownership?