KKis from Bangkok, Thailand. She studies medicine in the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas (UST). She learned that the same foreign books prescribed in UST are 40-50% cheaper in Bangkok. So she ordered 50 copies of each book for herself and her classmates and sold the books at 20% less than the price in the Philippines. XX, the exclusive licensed publisher of the books in the Philippines, sued KK for copyright infringement. Decide. (4%)
Suggested answer only. Not an official answer and not legal advice.
KK did not commit copyright infringement. Under the First Sale Doctrine in copyright law, after the first authorized sale of a lawfully made copy, the copyright owner's exclusive right to control the subsequent distribution, sale, or disposal of
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Quick check
Does the resale of genuine foreign medical textbooks purchased abroad constitute copyright infringement under Republic Act Number 8293?
Under the first sale doctrine, lawful purchase exhausts the copyright holder's exclusive distribution right over those copies.
What legal doctrine exhausts a copyright holder's exclusive right to control the subsequent distribution of a specific physical copy?
The first sale doctrine exhausts the owner's exclusive right to control subsequent sales of a lawfully acquired copy.
Can an exclusive Philippine licensee publisher sue a student for importing and reselling legally manufactured original books from abroad?
Exclusive distribution rights over specific genuine copies are exhausted after their lawful initial sale.
Under Republic Act Number 8293, what is required for the first sale doctrine to apply to imported copyrighted works?
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Which primary statute governs intellectual property, copyright owner rights, and first sale principles in the Philippines?
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Learn more about these topics
1. First Sale Doctrine
Under Section 177 and Section 190 of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act Number 8293), the first sale doctrine exhausts the copyright owner's exclusive distribution right over a particular physical copy of a work once that copy has been lawfully sold or transferred under the authority of the copyright owner. Once a genuine copy is placed in commerce with the owner's consent, the lawful owner of that specific copy possesses the legal right to import, resell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of that particular physical copy without incurring liability for copyright infringement.
2. Copyright Owner Rights
Under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, copyright ownership confers exclusive economic rights upon the author or publisher, including the rights of reproduction, public performance, transformation, and first public distribution. However, these exclusive rights do not grant the copyright holder or an exclusive territorial licensee perpetual control over subsequent commercial resales or parallel importation of legally manufactured copies. The publisher's exclusive territorial licensing rights cannot restrict subsequent sales of genuine copies that were lawfully manufactured and initially purchased in a foreign market.
3. Fair Use Importation
Under Section 185 and Section 190 of Republic Act Number 8293, importation of genuine copyrighted works for personal, educational, or non-commercial scholarly use by students and institutions is recognized under Philippine intellectual property law. Where genuine foreign medical textbooks are purchased abroad and brought into the Philippines to serve educational needs of classmates at reduced prices, such parallel importation of legitimate copies does not constitute actionable copyright infringement, provided the imported books are genuine originals manufactured under valid license.