Supreme Court Appears Divided on Copyright Case Affecting Libraries and Publishers

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday morning in a key copyright-infringement case, with justices asking pointed questions about the resale and reuse of protected works. Many of the questions homed in on possible consequences for individual buyers as well as libraries and other institutions, but did not suggest which way the court was leaning.

The outcome of the lawsuit, Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons (No. 11-697), has significant implications for publishers, academic libraries, and almost anyone who resells, lends, or displays copyrighted material made and bought outside the United States. The case centers on a dispute over textbooks produced by Wiley for foreign markets but imported to the United States and resold without the publisher’s permission.

Supap Kirtsaeng, a Thai national, came to study at Cornell University in 1997. As a student there and at the University of California, Mr. Kirtsaeng had family members and friends at home buy and send him textbooks, which he turned around and resold here. Wiley sued him in 2008 for copyright infringement. In his defense, Mr. Kirtsaeng invoked the first-sale doctrine. That pillar of U.S. copyright law holds that someone who buys a copyrighted work has the right to use or resell it without asking for permission. (Used bookstores operate on this principle, for instance.)

As Hurricane Sandy bore down on this city—whipping up wind and rain outside the court, one of the few parts of the federal government that was open—the justices heard arguments from both sides about whether the first-sale doctrine applies to foreign-made books and other works controlled by U.S. rights holders. The lawyers debated interpretations of Section 109 of the 1976 Copyright Act, which says the first-sale doctrine applies to copyrighted goods “lawfully made under this title.”

» via The Chronicle of Higher Education (Subscription may be required for some content)