Respondents publish academic textbooks that are protected under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. Under the Copyright Act of 1976, Respondents have the exclusive right to dis- tribute copies of those textbooks in the United States. Respondents also exercise their rights under the laws of other countries to publish modified versions of the textbooks for distribution exclusively in those countries or in specified geographic territories outside the United States Without obtaining permission from Respondents, Petitioners imported foreign-manufactured copies of Respondents’ textbooks into the United States and sold them at a profit. When Respondents sued for copyright infringement, Petitioners argued that the importation and sales were permissible under the first-sale doctrine codified in Section 109(a) of the Copyright Act, which permits the owner of a copy “lawfully made under this title” to sell that copy. 17
U.S.C. § 109(a). The Second Circuit below held that
Section 109(a) is inapplicable because the statutory language “refers specifically and exclusively to works that are made in territories in which the Copyright Act is law, and not to foreign-manufactured works.” Kirtsaeng Pet. App. 27a-28a.