Will SCOTUS make it illegal to resell your stuff?

This article, published October 8th, 2012 is of great importance to me.  The Supreme Court is set to hear a case that could impact millions of Americans and many businesses  What surprises me the most about this case, is how little media attention it has received. Since 1908, the holder of a copyright only had control over the initial sale (known as the "first-sale" principle). This is what made websites like eBay, Craigslist and gazelle possible- they all dealt with items that had already been purchased once, and were thus allowed to be resold. However, if the Supreme Court upholds an appellate court ruling, which stated that only domestic products were subject to the first-sale principle, the law would require you to obtain permission from the copyright holder before you resell it if the item was not made in America.

I really hope that the Supreme Court does not uphold the appellate court ruling. If the ruling is upheld, it will only provide further incentive for manufacturers to take their operations overseas, for they would now be able to control the rights to reselling in addition to the attraction of cheaper wages. I am also bothered by the fact that the driving force behind this case is a college student who made $1.2 million dollars by purchasing textbooks form overseas at a cheaper rate and reselling them in the United States. He serves as an extreme example, and should not be the reason why it would be illegal to have a garage sale without getting permission from all the copyright holders. I can see why the copyright holders want to protect themselves from people like the student who profited $1.2 million, but making it illegal across the board is too drastic. Perhaps the best way is to only require permission from the copyright holder if the item(s) you are selling are worth more than a certain amount of money, or if you are selling a certain number of the product.

Full article: http://www.salon.com/2012/10/08/will_scotus_make_it_illegal_to_resell_your_stuff/

-Brendan Forghani