Supreme Court Upholds Copyright Extension to Public Domain Works

The Copyright Act has faced, and will continue to face, many
difficulties in its application to foreign goods imported into the United
States, as well as goods manufactured in the U.S. that are sold outside. See,
for example, the problem that arises when the first-sale doctrine is applied to
U.S.-manufactured goods sold abroad that find their way back into the U.S. and are
sold way below their actual value. (The 1998 Quality King v. L’anza Supreme
Court case). And it’s uncertain whether the Copyright Act should even be used
to resolve cases where the goods are manufactured abroad (The 2011 John Wiley
v. Kirtsaeng 9th Circuit case). I’d say Congress is going to have to
get a lot more specific with its copyright laws, and anticipate possible
conflicts between U.S. law, foreign law and international treaties before
finally enacting.