Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research International, Inc.

Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research International, Inc.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 8, 1997 Decided March 9, 1998
Full case name	Quality King Distributors, Inc., Petitioner v. L'anza Research International, Inc.
Citations	523 U.S. 135 (more) 118 S. Ct. 1125; 140 L. Ed. 2d 254; 1998 U.S. LEXIS 1606; 66 U.S.L.W. 4188; 45 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1961; Copy. L. Rep. (CCH) ¶ 27,750; 26 Media L. Rep. 1385; 98 Cal. Daily Op. Service 1651; 98 Daily Journal DAR 2291; 1998 Colo. J. C.A.R. 1216; 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 383
Case history
Prior	On writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Holding
The copyright holder could not prevent re-importation of materials it had authorized.
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Majority	Stevens, joined by unanimous
Concurrence	Ginsburg

Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research International, Inc., 523 U.S. 135 (1998), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court over whether a copyright holder could restrict redistribution of material containing copyrighted content (authorized by the copyright holder) which is imported into the United States as so-called "grey market" goods.

Opinion of the Court

The Supreme Court found that the copyright holder could not prevent re-importation of the products it had authorized for export from the United States.

This case did not address the importation of products made outside the United States under authority of the copyright holder. The Court addressed that issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 568 U.S. 519 (2013), holding that those sales were also qualifying "first sales", and that copyright holders could not restrict trafficking of those works after those sales.

See also

• First-sale doctrine
• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 523
• List of United States Supreme Court cases
• Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume

External links

• Text of Quality King Distributors Inc. v. L'anza Research International Inc., 523 U.S. 135 (1998) is available from: CourtListener Findlaw Internet Archive (docket files) Justia Library of Congress