Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
There was once a man named Kirtsaeng who moved from Thailand to study in America. While he was studying, he saw that the textbooks he needed were very expensive. So, he asked his family back in Thailand to send him the same textbooks from home which were cheaper.
Kirtsaeng then sold the textbooks to his classmates in America for a lower price and was making a bit of money from it. The company that published the textbooks, called John Wiley & Sons, found out about what Kirtsaeng was doing and they sued him. They said that he was breaking the law because he didn't have permission to sell their books in America, and that he was hurting their business.
Kirtsaeng said that he was allowed to sell the books because they were his property since he bought them legally from Thailand. He said that he was not hurting the company's business because the students who bought the books from him wouldn't have been able to afford them otherwise.
The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country. They had to decide whether Kirtsaeng was allowed to sell the books or if he was breaking the law.
In the end, the Supreme Court decided that Kirtsaeng was allowed to sell the textbooks because of something called the "First Sale Doctrine." This means that once someone buys something legally, like a textbook or a toy, they are allowed to do whatever they want with it. They can keep it forever or they can sell it to someone else.
So, Kirtsaeng won the case and was allowed to keep selling the textbooks. Other people who buy things legally can also sell them later without getting in trouble with the law.
Kirtsaeng then sold the textbooks to his classmates in America for a lower price and was making a bit of money from it. The company that published the textbooks, called John Wiley & Sons, found out about what Kirtsaeng was doing and they sued him. They said that he was breaking the law because he didn't have permission to sell their books in America, and that he was hurting their business.
Kirtsaeng said that he was allowed to sell the books because they were his property since he bought them legally from Thailand. He said that he was not hurting the company's business because the students who bought the books from him wouldn't have been able to afford them otherwise.
The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country. They had to decide whether Kirtsaeng was allowed to sell the books or if he was breaking the law.
In the end, the Supreme Court decided that Kirtsaeng was allowed to sell the textbooks because of something called the "First Sale Doctrine." This means that once someone buys something legally, like a textbook or a toy, they are allowed to do whatever they want with it. They can keep it forever or they can sell it to someone else.
So, Kirtsaeng won the case and was allowed to keep selling the textbooks. Other people who buy things legally can also sell them later without getting in trouble with the law.