The Fight Against Skyrocketing Textbook Prices (a)

Abstract

A young graduate student finds himself in hot water when he is sued by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., for reselling textbooks overseas for a profit. This case explores the first-sale doctrine—a section of the Copyright Act of 1976—as well as citation of three additional decisions. The B case reveals the Supreme Court verdict. This case is used in a business law course elective at the McIntire School of Commerce. Excerpt UVA-G-0638 Mar. 16, 2015 The Fight Against Skyrocketing Textbook Prices (A) Supap Kirtsaeng, a graduate student at the University of Southern California, anxiously opened the letter he had just received from the U.S. Supreme Court. His eyes quickly scanned the page, and he smiled. The court had granted him a writ of certiorari, meaning that his appeal in the case against textbook publisher Wiley & Sons, Inc., would be heard. Perhaps he wouldn't have to forfeit all the profit he had made in the past few years selling cheap international editions of textbooks on eBay. Supap Kirtsaeng Supap Kirtsaeng was born in Thailand and lived there throughout his teenage years. As a teenager he excelled academically and, desiring the educational opportunities the United States provided, he applied and was accepted to Cornell University. As with most college students, Kirtsaeng was budget minded. He couldn't do much about living costs, but during his trips back to Thailand he realized that nearly identical versions of the textbooks he was using in class were available for a fraction of the price. After buying books for himself, Kirtsaeng realized he could turn international textbook sales into a profitable business. He opened up an eBay account and created listings for eight different textbooks that were both available in Thailand and popular in the United States. His family and friends back home would ship the textbooks to the United States, Kirtsaeng would reimburse them, and then he would pocket the profit from each sale. Despite the time commitments of his newfound business, Kirtsaeng continued to do well, and he decided to pursue a graduate degree in mathematics at the University of Southern California. By 2008, just a handful of years after he began selling, he had earned total revenue of more than $ 1million. . . .