Tech groups eye copyright case before SCOTUS

The Supreme Court agreed to hear a copyright case involving the online sale of foreign-made textbooks that’s being closely watched by the tech sector. The case, Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., involves the “first-sale doctrine,” a copyright infringement defense under which someone who buys a copyrighted work is free to resell it.

In the case, Supap Kirtsaeng, a student from Thailand, subsidized his expenses by having friends and family members send him foreign editions of textbooks and selling them online. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the doctrine does not apply to copies of copyrighted material made outside the US. Several big tech trade groups, including TechNet, TechAmerica and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, along with eBay, filed a friend-of-the-court brief siding with Kirtsaeng and urging the high court to hear the case.