UPI en Español  |   UPI Asia  |   About UPI  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Supreme Court shakes up copyright law

|
 
Published: March. 19, 2013 at 6:51 PM

WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court Tuesday ruled foreign buyers of books, movies and other products can resell them in the United States over the copyright owners' objections.

The nation's highest court voted 6-3 in the case of Supap Kirtsaeng, a former University of Southern California student from Thailand who found he could make a buck or two buying textbooks at lower prices in his home country and selling them in the United States, the Los Angeles Times reported.

John Wiley & Sons had sued the entrepreneur, charging he had violated its copyright protection, and a jury in New York awarded the publisher $600,000 in damages.

The Supreme Court reversed that judgment, deciding the copyright-holders' rights expire when their product is lawfully sold overseas. Under the "first sale" doctrine, a copyright holder has a right to profit from the first sale of a book, but not its resale, the Times said.

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote since the textbooks at issue were lawfully made overseas with the copyright-holder's permission, they were not pirated copies. So, he said, the "first sale" doctrine applies and the buyer was free to resell them.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy dissented, the newspaper said.

Topics: Stephen Breyer, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Justice Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
© 2013 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Immigration rally in Washington, D.C. MTV Movie Awards Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.
Miss NY USA crowns ASPCA King and Queen Academy of American Country Music Awards 2013: Celebrity break ups and divorces
Additional Business News Stories
1 of 19
Arias Is Found Guilty of Murder in Arizona
View Caption
Jodi Arias (R) reacts as she hears the verdict of guilty of first degree murder after a four month trial in Phoenix, Arizona, May 8, 2013. Arias was convicted of murdering her lover Travis Alexander in Tempe, Arizona in June of 2008. UPI// Rob Schumacher/Arizona Republic/Pool
fark
Florida restaurant pulls controversial lion tacos off the menu after huge uproar
Photoshop this red army
Celebrities without teeth. Yes, it is a slideshow. Yes, subby is going to floss now
I-81 closed for several days in Harrisburg, PA after Gov. Corbett forgets to disable disasters on...
I smuggled a turtle
ಌ Maybe everything isn't hopeless bullshiat ಌ