Re: [ARSCLIST] Fw: [78-l] (Fwd) Naxos Wins LandmarkCaseAgainstCapitol/EMI

[stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

----- Original Message -----
From: "James L Wolf" <jwol@xxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 2:31 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Fw: [78-l] (Fwd) Naxos Wins
LandmarkCaseAgainstCapitol/EMI


> Mike,
>
>    To clarify, you're saying it's not illegal to buy a Naxos Met CD
> from a UK web-site (buying in the country where sale is legal) and then
> have them ship it to the US. But this isn't the case for items like say,
> Cuban cigars. It's just plain illegal to bring them into the US as an
> item for sale, no matter where they've come through, such as Canada. Why
> are forbidden CDs different, especially when a sale (via Amazon UK) is
> completed only when they arrive at the proper US destination? Any decent
> lawyer could argue that this is a sale in the US. In the global economy,
> "Not for sale in the United States" has to mean something other than,
> "not available from American distributors but go ahead and buy it from
> an our other on-line site with a server in a different country." Or does
> it?

By buying the CD's, you are in theory depriving the copyright
owner of revenue...having once bought it, you no longer are. In fact,
there is a booming trade in Cuban cigars for sale to American tourists
up here! However, importing these into the USA for use, as well as sale,
may be illegal...though this may not be the case. I'm not sure. However,
the sale of these cigars is perfectly legal under Canadian law, even
if it is or should be apparent they are buying them with the intention
of breaking a US (not Canadian) law. The US doesn't have the legal right
(at least so far...Bush may change things) to alter or even enforce
Canadian law, or to enforce US law outside its borders. We shall see
what happens if Ottawa decriminalizes marijuana!

The idea is that the retailer, i.e. Amazon.com (a US concern) can't offer
these for sale in the US. However, if a non-US retailer (i.e. Amazon UK)
sells them ostensibly for locations other than the US...even though their
website can be viewed in the US...no law is broken. IF they knowingly ship
the CD's to US buyers, they might be breaking the law...but the key word
is "knowingly" here. The courts would have to prove that the company knew,
or had reason to believe, the buyer intended to purchase it and use it in
the USA, with the former being a violation of copyright law if the latter
was true. Since the buyer COULD be buying it for a gift for his great-aunt
in Fort Erie, this is difficult to establish!

However, Amazon UK can't advertise it in the Chicago Tribune or on a Chicago
TV station, which would mean they were marketing it for US sale...
...stevenc