SLA joined several other organizations in filing an amicus (friend of the court) brief with the Supreme Court asking it to reverse a decision that Costco was infringing upon copyright by selling genuine Omega watches without the watchmaker’s permission.
Omega sued Costco for selling genuine Omega watches at a discount, basing their claim on the idea that a small, copyrighted design stamped on the back of the watch was being infringed upon when Costco sold the watches. Ordinarily, copyright law’s first sale doctrine holds that the owner of a copy of a work can distribute it as he or she likes. However, Omega claimed that this limitation on copyright did not apply because the watches were not made in the United States.
The brief, filed 8 July 2010, was joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Free Trade Association, the American Association of Law Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association.
Read News Story: Can you sell your imported gadgets? Court guts "First Sale"
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