I was sued by publisher for selling international edition books

[gogojlwc]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NH

I was selling international edition textbook on eBay.
Recently, I received a mail from court that I have being sued by publisher.
My question is that I bought those book from oversea and those textbooks are legal and published by publishers.
However, on the book, it has stated that it is unauthorized for sale in the US.
I want to know how can I do for next.
Can anyone give me advice?

 

[TigerD]

Recently, I received a mail from court that I have being sued by publisher.

Can anyone give me advice?

Go find an attorney Monday.

DC

 

[The_Saint]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NH

I was selling international edition textbook on eBay.
Recently, I received a mail from court that I have being sued by publisher.
My question is that I bought those book from oversea and those textbooks are legal and published by publishers.
However, on the book, it has stated that it is unauthorized for sale in the US.
I want to know how can I do for next.
Can anyone give me advice?

I'm assuming you sold them as new books since you imported them.

Short answer, settle. Pull the titles off ebay if you haven't already, contact the attorney and see what they want as a settlement.

I'm not an attorney, but i have followed this topic closely.

 

[Zigner]

I'm assuming you sold them as new books since you imported them.

Short answer, settle. Pull the titles off ebay if you haven't already, contact the attorney and see what they want as a settlement.

I'm not an attorney, but i have followed this topic closely.

OR, our OP could do the right thing and consult with a local attorney first

 

[The_Saint]

OR, our OP could do the right thing and consult with a local attorney first

He could and should, but that may not be easy depending on where he lives.

I've been reading about this topic for a while, and theres really no legal loophole for this situation that i have come across anywhere. People think First Sale Doctrine will protect them, but it won't. They may try to claim that they are not in the duristiction of the NY court where the papers are filed but i'll bet they sold a copy to NY which brings them into that duristiction.

Absolutely hire an attorney, but don't expect to get out from this situation lightly.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

People think First Sale Doctrine will protect them, but it won't.

Why wouldn't it?

 

[Zigner]

It is foolish to suggest that the OP freely and openly admit to this. It could end up costing him a FAR GREATER amount. Your advice is dangerous to the OP.

He could and should, but that may not be easy depending on where he lives.

I've been reading about this topic for a while, and theres really no legal loophole for this situation that i have come across anywhere. People think First Sale Doctrine will protect them, but it won't. They may try to claim that they are not in the duristiction of the NY court where the papers are filed but i'll bet they sold a copy to NY which brings them into that duristiction.

Absolutely hire an attorney, but don't expect to get out from this situation lightly.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

Why wouldn't it?

Answering my own post:

First Sale Doctrine does not apply to goods manufactured outside the US. BMG Music v. Perez, 952 F.2d 318 (1991)

ETA: Caselaw not needed. This is statutory:

17 U.S.C.A. § 602

United States Code Title 17. § 602.

Infringing importation or exportation of copies or phonorecords

(a) Infringing importation or exportation.--

(1) Importation.--Importation into the United States, without the authority of the owner of copyright under this title, of copies or phonorecords of a work that have been acquired outside the United States is an infringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or phonorecords under section 106, actionable under section 501.

 

[The_Saint]

It is foolish to suggest that the OP freely and openly admit to this. It could end up costing him a FAR GREATER amount. Your advice is dangerous to the OP.

I don't claim to know it all, so if i am wrong please let me know as this is a topic that interests me and i am interested in learning more about it.

Here is my thinking, correct me if i am wrong (and i don't mean that in a sarcastic way).

- Seller sold the book on ebay. The Attorney suing him/her will have a copy of their listings, their ebay account info (name, telephone etc), copy of the payment to the OP etc.

- Attorney would have purchased a copy from the OP, so has a physical copy of what was being sold.

How can the OP deny he sold an IE? They have a copy of the listing, a copy of the book, and could get proof that they OP received the money from the sale (or can the Attorney not get a court order to have paypal release that info?)

I've read where the attornies will settle for their costs and the agreement that the seller stops selling. One person wanted to settle and they said they wanted their costs of about $20k IIRC. It dragged on and now the attorney wanted more because more costs had accumilated.

I've yet to read about a defendant winning a case like this. If i am wrong, please share some info on it.

If you know you can't win, and that perhaps they will settle for costs, wouldn't it be wiser to get it all wrapped up asap?

And i'm not suggesting they speak to the other side until they speak to their own attorney, so they should follow the advice of their attorney.

Again, i don't claim to be a pro or attorney, but i'd be interested on your views.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

I've yet to read about a defendant winning a case like this. If i am wrong, please share some info on it.

If the item was manufactured in the US, exported, and imported back into the US, First Sale Doctrine applies. Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research Intern., Inc., 523 U.S. 135, 118 S.Ct. 1125 (1998).

We don't know where OP's books were printed, so he may have a valid defense of First Sale Doctrine.

There may be other defenses as well. A four line description of his troubles is insufficient to make a valid determination.

Oh, New Hampshire has lawyers too.

 

[The_Saint]

If the item was manufactured in the US, exported, and imported back into the US, First Sale Doctrine applies. Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research Intern., Inc., 523 U.S. 135, 118 S.Ct. 1125 (1998).

We don't know where OP's books were printed, so he may have a valid defense of First Sale Doctrine.

There may be other defenses as well. A four line description of his troubles is insufficient to make a valid determination.

Oh, New Hampshire has lawyers too.

I've yet to see a International Edition printed in the USA, i've come across copies from the major publishers and they are all printed in Asia (one of the products i sell is textbooks).

Theres also the other issue that IE's can have different content to the US editions so depending on the OP's listing he/she could be in trouble there depending on how they worded the description.

In what senario could you defend yourself on?

 

[Zigner]

In what senario could you defend yourself on?

THAT is why our OP needs a real life, honest-to-goodness LAWYER. Not a guy who's dealt with things that are kinda-sorta similar.

 

[david127]

How can i follow this topic closely?

 

[quincy]

If you use the "Search" function at the top of the page, you can locate several threads on this same topic, dating back to 2005. This subject has been covered rather extensively in the past.

Enter "international edition textbooks" in the "keyword" space, do the image verification, and click.

I am thinking that a whole slew of lawsuits could be avoided if people did a little bit of investigation and research BEFORE the fact instead of AFTER the fact.

 

[The_Saint]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NH

I was selling international edition textbook on eBay.
Recently, I received a mail from court that I have being sued by publisher.
My question is that I bought those book from oversea and those textbooks are legal and published by publishers.
However, on the book, it has stated that it is unauthorized for sale in the US.
I want to know how can I do for next.
Can anyone give me advice?

So, its been just over 2 months since you posted this. What happened?

You came here looking for help, posting what happened could help the next person.