The Supreme Court Tuesday issued a ruling in a case involving a Thai student reselling books bought in Thailand to US individuals on eBay. Since the prices for the textbooks were much lower in Thailand, the student was able to make a profit. The ruling, written by Jusitice Breyer, overturned a lower court ruling in favor of the publisher Wiley, against the student. Library organizations hailed the decision, while publishers and software industry groups claimed it would harm the industry and consumers. The "first sale" rule now applies to copyrighted materials published oversees as well.
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