The Kirtsaeng Decision is a Victory for Ownership Rights

[Commentary] The Supreme Court's decision in Kirtsaeng is a big win for the public, for ownership rights, and free trade.

In a compellingly-argued 6-3 decision, the Court held that copyright owners do not have a perpetual right to control the resale of goods, even when they are manufactured overseas. Publishers argued for the right to control the distribution of copies of their books in perpetuity (or until any copyrights expired, whichever comes first). The effects would go far beyond the original importer. This would have been an absurd result.

If you own something, you own it, and whether or not you can resell it, give it as a gift, or lend it out should not depend on the country it was made in. (In many cases, how would you even know?) Had the Court gone the other way, a used bookstore or a library with books on its shelves that were imported from the U.K. twenty years ago might be a copyright infringer. But thanks to the Court's decision, sales of used books, CDs, clothes or other items with copyrighted designs or logos, and anything with embedded software (such as cars, electronics, and appliances) can continue without legal uncertainty hanging over them.