On June 2, at the Federal Courthouse in New York City, Legal Counsel Jonathan Band, Counsel will testify before the House Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee on the First Sale Doctrine. Mr. Band will address three issues of paramount importance to retailers, resellers, charities, libraries and consumers across the United States.
- The First Sale Doctrine flows from the premise that if you bought it, you own it, and that you have the right to sell, lend or give away your lawfully made copyrighted products.
- The Supreme Court decision in Wiley v. Kirtsaeng, which guaranteed the right to resell a legal copyrighted product regardless of where it was manufactured, should be left undisturbed.
- Some copyright holders are gaming the First Sale Doctrine by requiring consumers to purchase a new license each time they buy certain goods that have an essential software component.
- Europeans are unrestricted in their ability to sell trademarked goods into the US without permission from the mark holder but US companies and consumers must get permission to sell across the Atlantic further diminishing owners’ rights.
On June 3rd and 4th we are meeting in Brussels with EU Regulators and Trade Negotiators to discuss the inclusion of the right to import product into the EU for resale in the US-EU Trade talks.
On June 25th we will be testifying in Cambridge, Massachusetts before the US Department of Commerce’s Patent and Trademark Office and National Telecommunications and Information Administration on protecting the right to resell the DIGITAL property (software) that comes with a product when it is originally sold. On June 30th we will be doing the same in Berkeley, CA.
Our Boston Meeting for October 2014 is now online at www.ascdimeetings.com. Please try to come and support our industry.