US Supreme Court To Determine The Legality Of Consumers Reselling Their Goods

The US Supreme Court is considering a copyright case which may have a far reaching effect on a consumer's right to resell their own property. Today, many consumers resell their property (i.e., cell phones, video games, game systems, cars, text books, etc.) on various internet sites like Ebay & Craig's List. This is especially true of technology gadgets which change frequently and have consumers looking to upgrade their goods by selling their existing gadget and upgrading to the newest model. However, if merchants get their way in the US Supreme Court, that all may change. The case is Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons.   Presently, a consumer can resell any good he/she purchases but merchants in the Kirtsaeng case are lobbying for an exception to this rule for goods manufactured overseas.   Of course this would apply to many, if not most, consumer products from electronic devices to automobiles. You can read more in the Washington Times article linked below.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/26/supreme-court-determine-legality-reselling-iphones/#.UI1yvroQTLQ.email