Archived Version of ARL Webcast Now Online: Kirtsaeng v. Wiley and the Threat to Library Lending

The webcast is hosted by ARL’s Brandon Butler and was recorded on Tuesday (October 16, 2012). It runs about an hour.
Panelists:
+ Jonathan Band, policybandwith
+ Kevin Smith, Duke University Libraries
+ Carrie Russell, ALA

Background

On October 29, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral argument in Kirtsaeng v. Wiley, a dispute over the importation and re-sale of cheap foreign editions of textbooks. At the heart of the case is the “first-sale doctrine,” the provision in copyright law that makes it possible for libraries to lend books and other copyrighted material, for students to sell used textbooks, and for any rightful owner to sell or lend the copyrighted works they own. Because it touches such a fundamental aspect of copyright law, the decision of this case could have sweeping, profound effects for libraries, calling into question whether materials printed abroad can circulate legally.
For more details about the case and its implications for libraries, read the Library Copyright Alliance’s amicus curiae brief (PDF).

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