Supreme Court Rules in Kirtsaeng v. Wiley: “First Sale Doctrine Applies to Copies of Copyrighted Work Lawfully Made Abroad”
“The “first sale” doctrine applies to copies of a copyrighted work lawfully made abroad.”
The Decision
6-3 (Ginsburg dissents, joined by Kennedy and in part by Justice Scalia)
Justice Breyer writes opinion
Justice Kagan files concurring opinion joined by Justice Alito
Read the Opinion
Opinion: Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Coverage
Justice Stephen Breyer said in his opinion for the court that once goods are sold lawfully, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere, publishers and manufacturers lose the protection of U.S. copyright law.
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In a dissent for herself and Justices Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the court was ignoring Congress’ aim of protecting “copyright owners against the unauthorized importation of low-priced, foreign-made copies of their copyrighted works.”
Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, said in a separate opinion that Congress is free to change the law if it thinks holders of copyrights need more protection. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas also were part of the court’s majority.
Writing for the court, Justice Stephen Breyer said a ruling in favor of Wiley would have subjected retailers to “the disruptive impact of the threat of infringement suits.” Breyer also said the publishers’ and manufacturers’ position would “threaten ordinary, scholarly, artistic, commercial and consumer activities,” rendering libraries unable to circulate many books printed overseas.
The first sale doctrine is too important to as a doctrine that’s too important to mess around with; a “common-law doctrine with an impeccable historical pedigree,” in the words of today’s opinion. The doctrine “frees courts from the administrative burden of trying to enforce restrictions upon difficult-to-trace, readily movable goods.”
- Case Summary via Court House News Service
- A Textbook Case… (via Publishers Weekly)
Analysis
- Analysis of the Decision by Ronald Mann (via SCOTUS Blog)
Ronald Mann is a law professor at the Columbia U. Law School
- Analysis of the Decision by Krista Cox (Knowledge Economy International)
Reaction
- From the Library Copyright Alliance (ALA, ARL, ACRL): “Total Victory for Libraries and Their Users”
- From Stephen M. Smith, Wiley’s President & CEO Regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Kirtsaeng v John Wiley & Sons
- From the Association of American Publishers
- From the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL): “A Win for Libraries in Kirtsaeng v. Wiley”
- From the Center For Democracy and Technology: “Big Win in Supreme Court Case on ‘First Sale'”
- From the Owners Rights Initiative: “A Victory For Owners Rights”
- From the American Library Association
See Also: Case Filings via SCOTUSBlog
Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Libraries, News, Patrons and Users
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.
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