Posted on 10/07/2012 2:48:27 PM PDT by NonValueAdded
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Tucked into the U.S. Supreme Court’s agenda this fall is a little-known case that could upend your ability to resell everything from your grandmother’s antique furniture to your iPhone 4.
At issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons is the first-sale doctrine in copyright law, which allows you to buy and then sell things like electronics, books, artwork and furniture, as well as CDs and DVDs, without getting permission from the copyright holder of those products.
[snip]
That’s being challenged now for products that are made abroad, and if the Supreme Court upholds an appellate court ruling, it would mean that the copyright holders of anything you own that has been made in China, Japan or Europe, for example, would have to give you permission to sell it.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
The case stems from Supap Kirtsaeng’s college experience. A native of Thailand, Kirtsaeng came to America in 1997 to study at Cornell University. When he discovered that his textbooks, produced by Wiley, were substantially cheaper to buy in Thailand than they were in Ithaca, N.Y., he rallied his Thai relatives to buy the books and ship them to him in the United States.He then sold them on eBay, making upward of $1.2 million, according to court documents.
Wiley, which admitted that it charged less for books sold abroad than it did in the United States, sued him for copyright infringement. Kirtsaeng countered with the first-sale doctrine.
the article continues
That smacks of something that be solved by an adjustment to pricing strategy than yet another restriction on consumer rights.
The stage is being set for the anti-crist faster than I expected....Revelation states there will be no buying or selling unless you have the mark of the beast....now the SC has such a law heading their way....
“You didn’t make that” PING
Interesting. I’m all in favor of intellectual property laws...up to a point. The problem is that we have now skewed it in such a way that we have actually restricted distribution.
I just got an uncomfortable ‘chill’ from that...
Like overly restrictive state gun laws, this will just create a huge black market.
“John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!” ~President Andrew Jackson
/johnny
“He then sold them on eBay, making upward of $1.2 million”
Sounds like the real issue is the dividing line between personal vs business purchases. He wasn’t buying individual books for his own use and then reselling them, he was buying by the case with the intent to immediately resell for profit.
I don’t like differentiating between personal and business purchase & resale, but our system does rely on there being a difference.
All other commercial activity is strictly verboten.
Sounds like Wiley and Sons wants to engage in price-fixing.
The lawsuit sounds like conspiracy in restraint of trade.
LOL. Arbitrage in the college textbook industry. I think Kirtsaeng is a future currency trader.
They intend to control and track everything. This is freedom, didn’t you know?
Maybe too, a problem with importing goods without the proper permits or fees.
Here in Ga. scrap metal dealers are now asking for
photo ID. in order to buy YOUR scrap.
“When he discovered that his textbooks, produced by Wiley, were substantially cheaper to buy in Thailand than they were in Ithaca, N.Y., he rallied his Thai relatives to buy the books and ship them to him in the United States.
He then sold them on eBay, making upward of $1.2 million, according to court documents.”
Asians may be renowned for studying hard — but, I would wager that only a tiny minority spend $1.2 million on textbooks.
For which he should have had a business license and pay taxes on his profits.
At least that is what I as a retailer must do.
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