Lauren Gregory Published in American Bar Association's Litigation News, "Copyright Does Not Bar Resale of Gray Market Goods"

A retailer’s lawful purchase of copies of a watchmaker’s products manufactured abroad prevented the watchmaker from claiming the retailer’s discounted resale of the watches in the United States constituted copyright infringement. According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Omega S.A. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., the “first sale” doctrine provides that once a copyright owner consents to the sale of particular copies of a work, that same copyright owner cannot later claim infringement for distribution of those copies. For full content, click here.