Better sell that iPhone 4 while you still can

At issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons is the first-sale doctrine in copyright law, which allows you to buy and then sell things like electronics, books, artwork and furniture, as well as CDs and DVDs, without getting permission from the copyright holder of those products

Under the doctrine, which the Supreme Court has recognized since 1908, you can resell your stuff without worry because the copyright holder only had control over the first sale.

"Under the doctrine, which the Supreme Court has recognized since 1908, you can resell your stuff without worry because the copyright holder only had control over the first sale. "

From what little I've heard about this, the current case in front of the court is challenging that, so the fear is that the copyright holder would continue to have control after the first sale.

ahhh ok...

well I dont think I will flip out about it yet. Apple hasnt been able to stop me from Jailbreaking their phones, I am not sure how they will be able to control my buying one off a guy on craigslist.

Although the title of this thread is relevant. iPhone 4 prices are dropping fast on CL, so sell your quick!

Who would retain the rights if the company is no longer around?

Whomever buys up the assets of the company.

the courts that made this ruling is owned by someone.

The case stems from Supap Kirtsaeng’s college experience. A native of Thailand, Kirtsaeng came to America in 1997 to study at Cornell University. When he discovered that his textbooks, produced by Wiley, were substantially cheaper to buy in Thailand than they were in Ithaca, N.Y., he rallied his Thai relatives to buy the books and ship them to him in the United States.

He then sold them on eBay, making upward of $1.2 million, according to court documents.

Wiley, which admitted that it charged less for books sold abroad than it did in the United States, sued him for copyright infringement. Kirtsaeng countered with the first-sale doctrine.

In August 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling that anything that was manufactured overseas is not subject to the first-sale principle. Only American-made products or “copies manufactured domestically” were.

“That’s a non-free-market capitalistic idea for something that’s pretty fundamental to our modern economy,” Ammori commented.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the case on Oct. 29.

Maybe this will be a blessing in disguise. All manufacturing and its jobs could move to america and everyone wins.