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Costco seeks to revisit Lanza decision
May 21st, 2009 Copyrights, United States 1 Comments

Costco Wholesale Corporation (“Costco”) has filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to revisit and reconsider the proper interpretation of the first sale rule for foreign manufacturing and sales of products.  The Petition arises in Costco v. Omega, S.A. a case out of the 9th circuit.  This action arises out of the efforts of respondent
Omega, S.A. (“Omega”), to prevent petitioner Costco from reselling watches originally sold by Omega to authorized for-
eign distributors.  Omega affixed a symbol to its watches that it later registered under the Copyright Act in order to claim that, as foreign manufactured goods, under the rationale set forth in Quality King Distribs., Inc. v. L’Anza Research Int’l, Inc., 523 U.S. 135 (1998).  The Ninth Circuit upheld that the resale of the products was not protected by the first sale doctrine.  According to Costco: “The words “lawfully made under this title” quite clearly do not mean “manufactured in the United States,
and also manufactured abroad, but only in instances where the copyright holder sells into the United States.”  We will continue to monitor.

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