Will the Supreme Court Kill Used Bookstores?

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reason.com:

 

 

Will the Supreme Court Kill Used Bookstores?

 

 

The ruling in Kirtsaeng v. Wiley & Sons just may do that.

 

 

Christopher Balogh | November 28, 2012

 

On October 29, the Supreme Court heard the arguments of a copyright case involving the right to resell imported goods in the United States. The goods in question were college textbooks but the outcome could affect whether copyrighted goods made overseas can be resold in the U.S. without consent from the copyright holder. Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.may focus on the five-pound appendages lugged around by undergraduates, but any product made overseas with a U.S. copyright—from shoes to laptops—could be affected. That makesKirtsaeng potentially one of the most important decisions the Court will make this season.

 

Here’s the back story: Supap Kirtsaeng traveled to the U.S. from Thailand to attend Cornell and to earn a doctorate in math from University of Southern California. Along the way, Kirtsaeng set up his own business of sorts through eBay and sold $900,000 worth of books printed abroad by Wiley & Sons.