Concurrence Ginsburg | End date 1998 | |
Full case name Quality King Distributors, Inc., Petitioner v. L'anza Research International, Inc. Citations 523 U.S. 135 (more)118 S. Ct. 1125; 140 L. Ed. 2d 254; 1998 U.S. LEXIS 1606; 66 U.S.L.W. 4188; 45 U.S.P.Q.2D (BNA) 1961; Copy. L. Rep. (CCH) P27,750; 26 Media L. Rep. 1385; 98 Cal. Daily Op. Service 1651; 98 Daily Journal DAR 2291; 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 1216; 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 383 Majority Stevens, joined by unanimous Similar Omega SA v Costco W, Bobbs‑Merrill Co v Straus, Feist Publications - Inc - v Ru, Sony Corp of America v Univers | ||
Quality King Distributors Inc., v. L'anza Research International Inc., 523 U.S. 135 (1998), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court over whether a copyright holder could restrict redistribution of material containing copyrighted content (authorized by the copyright holder) which is imported into the United States as so-called "grey market" goods.
Opinion of the Court
The Supreme Court found that the copyright holder could not prevent re-importation of the products it had authorized for export from the United States.
This case did not address the importation of products made outside the United States under authority of the copyright holder. The Court addressed that issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 568 U.S. ___ (2013), holding that those sales were also qualifying "first sales", and that copyright holders could not restrict trafficking of those works after those sales.