Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the controversial and divisive case of Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, essentially backing the importation and resale of goods, included copyrighted ones, purchased abroad.
The case centered around Supap Kirtsaeng, a Thailand native and a now-former student in the U.S. He carved out a business for himself importing cheaper textbooks from his native country and reselling them online. Though the textbooks were legally purchased, published John Wiley & Sons felt that it was an infringement as copyright law grants copyright holders the right to control when works are imported into the U.S.
However, copyright law also grants the purchaser of a legally-bought work the right to resell that work, also known as the right of first sale. This created a clash of two rights that eventually made its way to the Supreme Court and, in the end, it reversed a lower court ruling and backed the right of first sale, going against interests in the entertainment and publishing industries.
But why should you care? If you aren’t reselling textbooks or eBaying your personal library, it might not seem like this applies.
However, U.S. Supreme Court rulings are incredibly important, especially when it comes to copyright and related issues on the Internet. This is true even if you don’t live in the United States or host your site here.
The truth is, when it comes to laws that apply to the Internet, the U.S. Supreme Court is easily one of the most important institutions on the planet and one that can greatly affect you, your site and all of your online activities. [Read more…] about Why You Should Care About Supreme Court Decisions
