On Monday the Supreme Court announced it would hear the case pitting USC doctoral candidate in mathematics Supap Kirtsaeng against Wiley for importing textbooks from his native Thailand into the United States. Assuming the Court actually comes to clear ruling, it will have broad ramifications for the publishing community. Just two years ago the court deadlocked 4-4 on a similar, but less directly publishing-related, case, Costco vs. Omega, allowing an appeals court decision in favor of Omega (and by extension, publishers) to stand. Wiley’s original 2008 suit charged that Kirtsaeng violated Wiley’s copyright by importing between $900,000 and $1.2 million […]
