Bobbs-Merrill Company v. Straus

Bobbs-Merrill Company v. Straus
by William R. Day

Syllabus

Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus, 210 U.S. 339 (1908), was a United States Supreme Court decision concerning the scope of rights accorded owners of a copyright. This was a case of first impression concerning whether the copyright laws permit an owner to control a purchaser's subsequent sale of a copyrighted work. The Court's ruling established what came to be known as the "first-sale doctrine", which was later codified as § 109(a) of the Copyright Act of 1976. Warning: template has been deprecated.

842757Bobbs-Merrill Company v. Straus — SyllabusWilliam R. Day

Court Documents

Opinion of the Court

United States Supreme Court

210 U.S. 339

Bobbs-Merrill Company v. Straus

Argued: March 12, 13, 1908. --- Decided: June 1, 1908

Messrs. W. H. H. Miller, C. C. Shirley, and Samuel D. Miller for appellant.

Messrs. John G. Carlisle and Edmond E. Wise for appellees.

Mr. Stephen H. Olin on behalf of Charles Scribner's Sons.

[Argument of Counsel from page 340 intentionally omitted]

Mr. Justice Day delivered the opinion of the court:

Notes edit

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).

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