Battling Gray Markets Through Copyright Law: Omega, S.A. v. Costco Wholesale Corporation

Brand owners around the world had reason to celebrate on Sep 3, 2008. On that day, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided Omega SA v. Costco Wholesale Corp, concluding that at least some of these owners could use copyright law to prevent unauthorized importation of their products into...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brigham Young University law review 2010-01, Vol.2010 (1), p.19
Main Author: Brooks, Samuel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case law
Copyright
Extraterritoriality
Federal court decisions
Grey markets
Imports
Law
Music
State court decisions
Supreme Court decisions
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Summary:Brand owners around the world had reason to celebrate on Sep 3, 2008. On that day, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided Omega SA v. Costco Wholesale Corp, concluding that at least some of these owners could use copyright law to prevent unauthorized importation of their products into the US. In Quality King Distributors Inc v. L'anza Research International Inc, the Supreme Court held that Section 602(a) of the Copyright Act, which provides that unauthorized importation of copies that have been acquired outside the US is an infringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or phonorecords under section 106, does not prevent the importation of domestically manufactured copies first sold abroad. This note explains the case law leading up to Omega and summarizes the Ninth Circuit's recent Omega decision. It also explains how the Ninth Circuit's analysis is fatally flawed and should be reversed if the Supreme Court grants certiorari.
ISSN:0360-151X
2162-8572