Washington - High Court Reviews Costco Sale of Swiss Watches |
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News Source: AP
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Washington - The Supreme Court is weighing whether Costco and other discount sellers can offer cut-rate goods from foreign manufacturers without violating U.S. copyright laws.
The justices heard argument Monday in a dispute between Costco and the Swiss watch maker Omega over a line of watches that Costco sold for a third less than they cost elsewhere.
The case has important implications for discount sellers like Costco and Target as well as eBay, Amazon and other companies that form an estimated $58 billion annual market for goods that are purchased abroad, then imported and resold without the permission of the manufacturer. The U.S.-based sellers, and consumers, benefit from the common practice of manufacturers to price items more cheaply abroad than in the United States.
The software, book, music and movie industries say a broad ruling for Costco also could threaten their ability to retain control over copyrighted works. By contrast, public and university libraries worry that a decision in favor of Omega could force them to withdraw foreign-made books from circulation.
Omega sued Costco for copyright infringement after the wholesale membership club offered Omega’s Seamaster watch for $1,299. The suggested retail price was $1,995.
Costco purchased the watches from a company in New York. Omega initially sold at least some of the watches to an authorized distributor in Paraguay.
The high court already has ruled that copyright protections do not apply when the goods are made in the U.S., sold abroad and reimported. This case concerns only foreign-made items.
A decision is expected by spring.
The case is Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Omega, S.A., 08-1423.
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Read Comments (9) — Post Yours »
1
Nov 08, 2010 at 03:43 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
How much does omega sell them for?
2
Nov 08, 2010 at 03:48 PM cynic Says:Report as Inappropriate
This is commonly referred to as the "Grey Market".
Way back I was in Israel and found copies of Jewish history books which were in newspaper format. That is, every page detailed the events of that time (such as, for example, the breaching of the walls of Jericho) as a newspaper sheet.
The books (at least the English ones) had been published in NYC, but were cheaper to buy over the counter in Israel. A couple of months later, back in the US, I found it less expensive to send the money to Israel and have them shipped back across the Atlantic...
(I was just trying to look up the names of the books... I'm pretty sure they were edited by Yisrael El Dad, of Stern Group (לחי) fame, but I don't see them listed under his biographies - at least the English ones).
Ah, here they are: "... He served as editor of "Chronicles: News of the Past" which described events from Jewish history in the form of "contemporary newspaper reports." "
.. which, it turns out, was courtesy of, dare I say it:
" ... Dr. Joseph Klausner to recommend .. an editor. Dr. Klausner suggested Eldad. "
http://www.saveisrael.com/eldad/eldadbio.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Eldad
3
Nov 08, 2010 at 04:35 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
Some of the most "reputable" electronic stores in NYC sell "grey goods" which I learned the hard way. I bought an LG high end cell phone from a very well known downtown NYC store only to discover that this model was only supposed to be sold in Thailand and I could not get it serviced in the USA. Buyer Beware!
4
Nov 08, 2010 at 04:56 PM cbdds Says:Report as Inappropriate
This practice might also be behind all the foreign paper towels and cleaning products in heimish stores. A rule of thumb might be that if there are no directions or ingredients in American English it is probably grey market.
5
Nov 08, 2010 at 07:45 PM esmith Says:Report as Inappropriate
Why should Americans be forced to pay more than people elsewhere? Smacks of discrimination and Socialism to me. Sell for a higher price to rich people than you do to poor people. I'm not against charity, but this is more like robbery of the "rich Americans."
6
Nov 09, 2010 at 09:01 AM I mean, seriously? Says:Report as Inappropriate
All you interenational trade experts commenting have no idea of what you are talking about.
This is NOT "grey market", which is made for the company to be sold in a different area.
This is a copyright infringement case, in which foreign companies ifgnore US patents and make knock-offs and sell them here cheaper than the originals. the real companies get no revenues, and their reputations are hurt by inferior merchandise.
These foreign companies steal their trademarks and designs, and, for the record, it is halachacly forbidden to buy these products.
So you boasters who are proud of the "better deal" you got, you got kknockoffs, paid for inferior merchandise, and and were oiver halacha, Nothing to brag about.
7
Nov 09, 2010 at 10:58 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ All you interenational trade experts commenting have no idea of what you are talking about.
This is NOT "grey market", which is made for the company to be sold in a different area.
This is a copyright infringement case, in which foreign companies ifgnore US patents and make knock-offs and sell them here cheaper than the originals. the real companies get no revenues, and their reputations are hurt by inferior merchandise.
These foreign companies steal their trademarks and designs, and, for the record, it is halachacly forbidden to buy these products.
So you boasters who are proud of the "better deal" you got, you got kknockoffs, paid for inferior merchandise, and and were oiver halacha, Nothing to brag about. ”
sorry, typo, "international".
8
Nov 09, 2010 at 11:19 AM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ All you interenational trade experts commenting have no idea of what you are talking about.
This is NOT "grey market", which is made for the company to be sold in a different area.
This is a copyright infringement case, in which foreign companies ifgnore US patents and make knock-offs and sell them here cheaper than the originals. the real companies get no revenues, and their reputations are hurt by inferior merchandise.
These foreign companies steal their trademarks and designs, and, for the record, it is halachacly forbidden to buy these products.
So you boasters who are proud of the "better deal" you got, you got kknockoffs, paid for inferior merchandise, and and were oiver halacha, Nothing to brag about. ”
You have no idea what your talking about. A nock off omega cost maximmum $200. What cosco is sellig for 1/3 off retail is authentic.
9
Nov 09, 2010 at 12:48 PM Anonymous Says:Report as Inappropriate
“ All you interenational trade experts commenting have no idea of what you are talking about.
This is NOT "grey market", which is made for the company to be sold in a different area.
This is a copyright infringement case, in which foreign companies ifgnore US patents and make knock-offs and sell them here cheaper than the originals. the real companies get no revenues, and their reputations are hurt by inferior merchandise.
These foreign companies steal their trademarks and designs, and, for the record, it is halachacly forbidden to buy these products.
So you boasters who are proud of the "better deal" you got, you got kknockoffs, paid for inferior merchandise, and and were oiver halacha, Nothing to brag about. ”
you are mistaken this IS a case of grey market goods. if costco was selling knockoffs there would be nothing to argue