Discussion:
What is the name of your state? PA
I am trying to investigate the legality of importing textbooks from overseas and reselling them here. As to date, I have gotten feedback that this has been ruled by the supreme court to be legal if the books are manufactured in the US, then exported, then sold, then re-imported. However, I am also interested in the legality of importing books that have been manufactured overseas. In particular, would buying the books from an overseas authorized distributor directly and having them ship the books to the US, and then reselling the books here be infriging on copyright laws? The books do say on them 'These books are not to be redistributed or sold in the US.' However, wouldn't the first sale clause protect the second sale here in the US since I am buying them from a distributor overseas? Furthermore, what could be the possible legal actions taken against me if I were to pursue this and who would be the party with rights to take action? Is it possible to argue this action to be legal even if it is currently defined as an infringement of the copyright laws? If I advertised the books as used (like new), would this then be legal?
Also, a side question - is it illegal to put a sticker on the cover of a book to advertise a business?
Any advice, insight, and help anyone can lend regarding this 'grey market' would be extremely helpful.
Answer:
"Grey market" imports are generally legal.
Some localities may place extra burdens on grey market imports (NY City, for example, requires all grey market items to be identified as such, or face a $500 fine), you should check in your locality for such an ordinance.
In particular, would buying the books from an overseas authorized distributor directly and having them ship the books to the US, and then reselling the books here be infriging on copyright laws? No, but the "authorized distributor" may have some contractual or other problems with the publisher if they do this. I would not guess that many would be willing to risk their distributorship for this, but you never know, and if they do, it's their problem, not yours.
The books do say on them 'These books are not to be redistributed or sold in the US.' However, wouldn't the first sale clause protect the second sale here in the US since I am buying them from a distributor overseas? From a copyright standpoint, yes.
Is it possible to argue this action to be legal even if it is currently defined as an infringement of the copyright laws? It's not copyright infringement, so there is nothing to argue.
Also, a side question - is it illegal to put a sticker on the cover of a book to advertise a business? That would likely be copyright infringement -- a court could easily find that you have created an unauthorized "derivative work"
There are other grey market booksellers out there -- maybe you could contact someone who works with one to get more information. But, under current law, they are generally legal. In fact, most grey market imports are legal, not just textbooks.
Answer:
Here is my question and situation: I'm interested in starting an International Edition Book Store (IEBS), which would sell most collegiate books. In the USA, these books cost easily $100 or more, however, in foreign countries, they sell for about a 1/10 of this. I noticed that there are many people importing international editions to the USA. Therefore, this can't be illegal.
From what I understand, this is legal. One legal subsection states that, if the copies are lawfully made (therefore, are authorized for manufacture in their country of origin by the copyright holder), then the US Customs Service does not have the authority to prevent the copies from being imported. The only thing that they are authorized to do, is provide a copyright registration
service where copyright holders can pay a fee to be informed by the Customs Service whenever goods are imported that are not pirated goods, but are also not authorized for sale in the United States by the copyright holder.
What must I do to prevent IEBS from doing anything illegal? What do I do to make it compliant with the law?
Finally, would this be illegal: Having a point of contact in a foreign country to ship the books once an order is received?
Answer:
Please start a new thread -- it can be confusing to determine who is responding to who.