Find Court Cases > Costco Wholesale Corporation v. Omega, S.A.

Costco Wholesale Corporation v. Omega, S.A.

Case Date: 11/08/2010
Docket No: none

Facts of the Case 

Watchmaker Omega S.A. sued Costco Wholesale Corp. when it bought a shipment of the Swiss-made watches from another importer and sold them for below Omega's suggested retail price. Omega contends that Costco's sale infringes on their copyright of the Omega logo on the back face of the watch. Meanwhile, Costco argues that Omega is precluded from bringing a copyright action after a sale due to the Doctrine of Exhaustion, or "first sale" rule, under which certain rights are "exhausted" after a sale of the copyrighted good.

A judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California backed Costco, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that the first-sale doctrine did not apply to imported goods manufactured abroad.

Read the Briefs for this Case
  • Brief Amici Curiae of the American Library Association, the Association of College And Research Libraries, And the Association of Research Libraries In Support of Petitioner
  • Brief of Amici Curiae Public Knowledge, American Association of Law Libraries, American Free Trade Association, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Medical Library Association, And Special Libraries Association In Support of Petitioner
  • Brief of Intel Corporation as Amicus Curiae In Support of Petitioner
  • Brief of Amicus Curiae Public Citizen In Support of Petitioner
    • Question 

    Under the first-sale doctrine of copyright law, someone who purchases a copyrighted work (like a book) can later sell the work to someone else without the permission of the copyright holder (the book's author). Does the "first- sale doctrine" apply to imported works manufactured abroad?

    Argument Costco Wholesale Corporation v. Omega, S.A. - Oral ArgumentFull Transcript Text  Download MP3Costco Wholesale Corporation v. Omega, S.A. - Opinion AnnouncementFull Transcript Text  Download MP3 Conclusion  Decision: 4 votes for Omega, S.A., 4 vote(s) against Legal provision: Copyright Act

    The Court deadlocked 4-4, which means that the appeals court ruling against Costco stays in place, though the case sets no new high court precedent because it ended in a tie. The tie was possible because Justice Elena Kagan recused herself in the case.