Wash that "gray" right out

[tranquility]

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

Summary at:
http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kirtsaeng-v-john-wiley-sons-inc/?wpmp_switcher=desktop

A Thai national (Kirtsaeng) came to this country to study at Cornell and U.S.C. To subsidize his educational expenses, he resold textbooks purchased by his family at bookstores in Thailand. All in all, he sold several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of textbooks imported in this way, reaping a net profit in the range of $100,000. When his activities came to the attention of Wiley (a major American textbook publisher), a suit for copyright infringement predictably ensued. The district court found for Wiley and imposed statutory damages of $600,000. The Second Circuit affirmed.

Twas held:
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-697_d1o2.pdf

The “first sale” doctrine, which allows the owner of a copyrighted work to sell or otherwise dispose of that copy as he wishes, applies to copies of a copyrighted work lawfully made abroad.

 

[Zigner]

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

Summary at:
http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kirtsaeng-v-john-wiley-sons-inc/?wpmp_switcher=desktop



Twas held:
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-697_d1o2.pdf

Moral of the story?
Buy low (in Thailand), sell high (somewhere else)!


ETA: It's a joke - I understand the much broader implications of this ruling

 

[tranquility]

I like the moral better.

I don't know if I've answered the issue before, but I know I've agreed with posters in this forum when an OP asked similar questions. Were we wrong if we were right at the time? (At least as to lower courts' holdings.)

 

[quincy]

I like Zigner's moral, too, and I also like the title of your thread, tranquility.

The Supreme Court has made good sense of it all.

 

[Proserpina]

I like Zigner's moral, too, and I also like the title of your thread, tranquility.

The Supreme Court has made good sense of it all.

May I "like" these posts and the general idea please?

 

[quincy]

"Likes" compliments of Proserpina.




(it sucks that I can't "like" my own post )

 

[You Are Guilty]

I expect this decision will be the genesis of either "US only" texts (probably the international version with some new/different questions and a few pages shuffled around for good measure), or, more likely, some form of "online" textbook which will be licensed to a specific key. Either way, it will be a boon for students, as prices should drop noticeably.

Second, I thought the dissent/concurring/majority split on the opinion was fascinating. (But then again, I am weird.)

 

[quincy]

. . . Either way, it will be a boon for students, as prices should drop noticeably.

Second, I thought the dissent/concurring/majority split on the opinion was fascinating. (But then again, I am weird.)

I was thinking just the opposite - that books sold overseas would become more expensive, so their importation and sale here would not create such a nice profit for the seller. My thoughts are rooted in the fact that I have never known much of anything to get cheaper.

And, as a note, I am weird, too (maybe not as weird as you ), and found the dissent interesting.