Discussion:
What is the name of your state? Mississippi
I bought an International Edition textbook from a US dealer through Half.com a couple of weeks ago, but I don't need it any more. I want to sell it to someone else, again through Half.com.
The back of the book says the following:
"If you purchased this book within the United States or Canada you should be aware that it has been wrongfully imported without the approval of the Publisher or the Author."
and:
"Not for Sale in the U.S.A. or Canada"
So my question: is it legal for me to sell this book to someone else in the US? I'm not importing it, since it was already in the country when I bought it. Is there any legal weight to what the book says, or is this a scare tactic?
Answer:
Originally posted by joeljkp
What is the name of your state? Mississippi
I bought an International Edition textbook from a US dealer through Half.com a couple of weeks ago, but I don't need it any more. I want to sell it to someone else, again through Half.com.
The back of the book says the following:
"If you purchased this book within the United States or Canada you should be aware that it has been wrongfully imported without the approval of the Publisher or the Author."
and:
"Not for Sale in the U.S.A. or Canada"
So my question: is it legal for me to sell this book to someone else in the US? I'm not importing it, since it was already in the country when I bought it. Is there any legal weight to what the book says, or is this a scare tactic? **A: what does "Not for Sale in U.S.A." mean? Is the textbook the King James version?
Answer:
"is it legal for me to sell this book to someone else in the US?"
Yes.
Read up on the "first sale doctrine" for more info.
Answer:
But doesn't the first sale doctrine require that the original sale be legal? I bought it the same way I propose to sell it: through Half.com between parties in the U.S.
Answer:
First Sale Doctrine deals with the exhaustion of intellectual property rights. For a book, the rights are typically the protections under copyright law and trademark law. The book you purchased is a "grey market" book -- it is a legal, authorized copy of the book, but distributed through "unauthorized" channels. Since it is a legal copy, there are no copyright issues; the rights under copyright law are "exhausted" once the copy is sold.
The only issue left is one of trademark. In the case of a grey market importer, the trademark holder could possibly pursue a cause of action for misappropriation against the importer -- but it is not a criminal issue, it is not illegal to purchase a grey market product (all of the risk for importing and selling grey market products are on the distributors trying to bypass the authorized channels). Basically, as long as YOU don't purport to be an authorized dealer of the book, you can freely sell the book -- baiscally, again, once the book is in the hands of a consumer, the trademark protections are "exhausted" and the trademark holder cannot further control the distribution of THAT particular copy of the book unless there is some other factor in play, such as you pretending to be an authorized distributor.
Now, if this had been a "black market" import -- that is, if the book you purchased was an unauthorized COPY of the book (as opposed to merely being a legal copy distributed through unauthorized channels) -- THEN the first sale doctrine would not protect you, as any sale of an unauthorized copy of a copyrighted product is copyright infringement, and the copyright owner could come after you. In this case, the copyright holder's rights are NOT exhausted.
Answer:
Amazing, thank you for the wonderful answer.
Answer:
What is the name of your state? Rhode Island.
If a textbook is purchased online from a seller outside the U.S. (by a buyer in the U.S.), does this change anything? Assume the book is a genuine, U.S. manufactured "International Edition" textbook, purchased for personal use, but states that it is "Not for Sale in the U.S.A. or Canada." Is it currently legal to purchase and use this textbook?
I would really appreciate your take on this matter.