Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

For 150 years, it has been lawful to sell a legal copy you own. Some creative lawyers are trying to change that, and their argument that the copy has to have been made in the U.S. to enjoy that right is before the Supreme Court. (We just a petition for writ of certiorari, meaning asked permission to appeal, in Liu v. Pearson Education, Inc., No. 11-708.)

But assuming that the copy is legal (non-infringing), then your right to resell it should be governed by 17 U.S.C. � 109(e), which provides, in part, "Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106 (3), the owner of a particular copy or phonorecord lawfully made under this title, or any person authorized by such owner, is entitled, without the authority of the copyright owner, to sell or otherwise dispose of the possession of that copy or phonorecord." Section 106(3) is the exclusive right of the copyright holder to distribute copies of the work, which is subject to section 109(e).

Copies and copyrights are separate. Section 202.

You can find these sections of the Copyright Act at http://www.copyright.gov/title17/