Citizens' Petition for Ownership and Right to Sell

If you are on eBay, you have probably been asked to sign a petition: http://ownershiprights.org/

In between the clamor of the headlines, the Supreme Court is going to hear a case involving a citizen's right of ownership over goods s/he purchases and the legal status of his/her right to distribute, sell or otherwise dispose of that property. The case stems from the re-sale of textbooks that a student purchased. It may seem aloof, but the ramifications are far reaching.

Anyone who sells merchandise online could be affected by a Supreme Court ruling. Please take a look at the website.....and sign the petition.

Tags: copyright, laws, ownership, reseller

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ElsiesAttic ~ CEO on June 27, 2012 at 10:13pm

THAT... is insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So if it holds up, then if we sell an old Cook Book, we can get sued by the publisher???? Am I reading that correctly?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by ElsiesAttic ~ CEO on June 27, 2012 at 10:16pm

I went to this page...

http://ownershiprights.org/whats-at-stake#.T-u-HZFFvgY

What’s at stake?

Ownership rights are an integral part of our everyday lives. Here is what could happen if we no longer had Ownership Rights:

Selling a used book, iPhone, or pair of shoes on Amazon, eBay, or at your local flea market could be illegal.
Giving away a couch away on Craigslist could result in prosecution for being an unauthorized distributor.
Libraries would not be able to lend out books.
Redbox and Blockbuster would not be able to rent out movies.
Retailers that obtain their products from a source other than the original manufacturer – which most retailers do – would be engaging in illegal activity.
Consumers could pay more for everyday items purchased online because with less competition, manufacturers could impose higher costs.
Donating clothes to charitable organizations would be considered unauthorized distributions.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by ElsiesAttic ~ CEO on June 27, 2012 at 10:17pm

hmmmmm.... so now that my old Ford Explorer is finally rusting apart.... I guess I will not be able to sell it cause Ford owns the property then...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by ElsiesAttic ~ CEO on June 27, 2012 at 10:22pm

SCOTUS Web Page about the case

http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kirtsaeng-v-john-wiley-s...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Pearl's Parlor on June 27, 2012 at 10:27pm

Wow. That's crazy. I signed the petition. Thanks for sharing that info.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Granny Wickers on June 27, 2012 at 10:31pm

Interesting Case. As I am not selling in America and not living in the US I cannot sign the petition. Interesting that I cannot go to the US and buy a new car at a considerably cheaper price, and bring it back to Canada. Dealers will not sell it to you.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Another Time Antiques on June 27, 2012 at 10:44pm

Although this case involves books, the question will be how far they go covering property rights and copyright law.

The way the SC is going these days, I'd watch this one carefully as well.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by San Marcos Art Glass on June 27, 2012 at 10:44pm

There is another in-depth discussion at http://www.williamsmullen.com/rocketdocketiplit/?entry=321. My biggest question about these books is why Wiley didn't make these less expensive texts available for American students to start with. Grrr! I don't think this would apply to vintage things so much, since it would not be first sale and no one company would be infringed upon greatly. It is an interesting case.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Granny Wickers on June 27, 2012 at 11:09pm

And his gross revenues were 1.2 million dollars. Anyone here got a gross like that?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by San Marcos Art Glass on June 27, 2012 at 11:17pm

Good point, Granny. I missed that. It could be said he was acting as an unauthorized dealer of products that were not intended to be sold in America. I think this does have some implications for the Canadian medication market if the drugs are manufactured outside the US. The problem there is that US law cannot be enforced in other countries.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by WhimsicalVintage on June 27, 2012 at 11:36pm

Definitely an interesting case. This has been a problem for years...remember the old thing of Americans taking suitcases of Levi's overseas and selling them at a huge profit because Levi's are so much cheaper here (although not anymore)...or there was a case of BMW's being shipped by German citizens to the US and then resold at a huge profit. While I am fearful of anything these days that steps on our online toes, so to speak and the conspiracy theorist in me believes that this is all a case of the "big boys" aka dept. stores etc. not liking the hit they're taking in sales due to the online community...I honestly don't think that this will impact us. That being said, every little step is still a step. I also think this guy must have had some idea of what he was getting into - if it's seems too easy, there's usually something wrong.

San Marcos...because our government makes big business out of college educations:) Why is the same Lipitor that used cost $100 before the drug company's copyright time ran out, now cost only $3.00 from the same drug company? Whether you're talking about publishers, colleges, drug companies...and whether you're a Democrat in Washington or a Republican...it's all about the same thing - the almighty dollar!