Source: http://freedomforip.org/2010/12/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 00:43:41+00:00

Document:
COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION, PETITIONER v. OMEGA, S. A.
That is it! The block quote is the whole thing we do not even know who voted how or why…. I do not know what else to say, the court passed on a really important case that affects copyright distribution, owner rights, and international imports.
a per curiam decision (or opinion) is a ruling issued by an appellate court of multiple judges in which the decision rendered is made by the court (or at least, a majority of the court) acting collectively and anonymously. In contrast to regular opinions, a per curiam does not list the individual judge responsible for authoring the decision, but minority dissenting and concurring decisions are signed.
Per curiams are not the only type of decision that can reflect the opinion of the court. Other types of decisions can also reflect the opinion of the entire court, such as unanimous decisions, in which the opinion of the court is expressed with an author listed. The Latin term per curiam literally means “through the court”.
This means that the court is not making a ruling that clarifies or speaks to the issues brought up.
This brings up two big issues why such a short decision and what is the impact.
1) Why the court passed?
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. v. Kirtsaeng, argued on May 19, 2010.
Pearson Education, Inc. v. Liu, petition for leave to appeal deferred pending resolution of Kirtsaeng.
Pearson Education, Inc. v. Arora, briefed, oral argument on January 12, 2011.
It is possible that the SCOTUS wanted to look at other alternatives before fully addressing this issue. SCOTUS could have stepped in here with a logical ruling that impacts these cases when deciding Costco v. Omega.
2) What is the impact? This is a big setback for American retailers and consumers. Given that the ruling in the 9th circuit (the west coast) stands importing good could now make you liable for copyright infringement even if you legal own the goods. In areas of the country this is unsettled law and we will not know how it work till we have litigation.
More about costco v. omega w/ court filings and New in IP video explaining Costco v. Omega in plain English.

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