Like the Hatfields and the McCoys, copyright owners and distributors in the United States have a long-standing feud over the right to sell authentic copyrighted goods that had been acquired overseas. Copyright holders say they control the importation of such goods. Distributors in turn seek refuge in the “first-sale doctrine,” which provides that a legally made copyrighted work may be resold without the copyright holder’s permission once it enters the marketplace.
On Aug. 15, the copyright owners scored a victory when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2d Circuit handed down its decision in John Wiley & Sons v. Kirtsaeng, 2011 WL 3560003 (2011). In a matter of first impression, the court ruled in favor of a publisher that had sued a California man for reselling in the United States less expensive versions of its copyrighted textbooks produced in Asia. The decision, which is in alignment with the highly publicized Omega v. Costco decision of the 9th Circuit, stands to significantly affect modern commerce.
