Media Coverage
Source: Reuters
Media Coverage
03.20.13
The U.S. Supreme Court has settled the question for many legal observers of the meaning of a disputed phrase in U.S. copyright law. The clarification, however, is likely to leave copyright holders looking for ways around the ruling.
In Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley and Sons, the high court ruled on Tuesday that the "first-sale doctrine" in copyright law applies to goods lawfully made outside the United States. The court found in favor of a student who resold textbooks on eBay that had been purchased abroad, ruling that copyright holders cannot block the resale in the U.S. of products they make elsewhere.
Evan Finkel, partner in Pillsbury’s intellectual property practice in Los Angeles, thinks despite the court’s findings, the opinion could still provide ways for copyright holders to protect their positions in the marketplace.
“Because copyright owners could still control imports under certain scenarios, they may try to develop a model in which consumers are given a license to use their copyrighted material, rather than owning it,” said Finkel.
“Such transactions would likely fall outside the restrictions of the court's opinion, because there would only be a license for certain use and not a new owner of the material.”