6 ms·

I bought those books when I lived in Asia. The savings are huge, upwards of 80%. On the cover it does say "Not for Resale in North America & Europe" or "Not for

I bought those books when I lived in Asia. The savings are huge, upwards of 80%. On the cover it does say "Not for Resale in North America & Europe" or "Not for Resale outside of (country)" on the cover. One note though, these books are usually an "international" edition which excludes some of the content usually found in the North American & European editions, including STEM subjects, which I initially found rather surprising. When I first saw these editions more than ten years ago I had the same thought, of setting up a website and selling to North America and Europe. The main issues were finding sufficient supply (university libraries only order a certain amount for their own students) and that the editions were different. That can make a difference for some subjects and for the assignments.

gambiting 14y ago
the "not for resale" note on the cover is completely meaningless. They could also say "if you open this book you owe us 1 billion dollars" and the effect would also be the same - it would have zero ground to stand on in court.
- rprasad 14y ago
  Actually, when it comes to sales across borders, "Not for Resale Outside of [X country or region" has legal effect in every country that respects copyright. First-sale doctrine is a uniquely American idea; it only applies to (first) sales subject to the jurisdiction of American courts. I.e., it would apply to a sale by Amazon to some dude in Japan and to a sale by Amazon JP to some guy in California, but not to a sale by Amazon KOR to some guy in China, who then resells into the U.S.
  - sjmulder 14y ago
    Of course the US laws on copyright only apply to the US, but the idea behind the first-sale doctrine exists elsewhere. I just looked up the Dutch rules[1], and it turns out it’s very much the same. When a work is sold, the copyrights are “exhausted” and can no longer be invoked for that copy. 1: http://www.iusmentis.com/auteursrecht/spoedcursus/beperkingen/ http://www.iusmentis.com/auteursrecht/spoedcursus/beperkinge... (Dutch)
    - Evbn 14y ago
      That doesn't say anything about a legal right to import a work created under abother country's laws, or a resident of another country's right to import a work from the Netherlands.
    - wtallis 14y ago
      While it appears from your link that the Netherlands may have something similar to first-sale doctrine, many European countries have the exact opposite, droit de suite, which allows for the original author (or their estate) to exercise control over any sale, not just the first.
      - ohashi 14y ago
        What is the argument in favor of that?
        Terretta 14y ago
        So that when an artist sells a painting for $10 that gets resold for $100 million, the artist can realize some of the true value of the work they produced.
        ohashi 14y ago
        Why should they though? They thought it was worth $10. Why is their pricing mistake rewarded?
        Terretta 14y ago
        Appreciation.
      - kristofferR 14y ago
        It's not the exact opposite necessarily. It's very possible to have both the first-sale doctrine and droit de suite in the same copyright law. In Norway for example we have the first-sale doctrine, but when original versions of artwork, valued over 3000 Euro, are resold the original artist shall receive around 5% of the transaction (unless the artwork is sold to a museum that displays the art to the public).
  - uptown 14y ago
    I've seen this handled on eBay by some by including a "safe" product which is listed as the item for sale, and "giving" away the item that's excluded from being resold. Basically the buyer and seller have a full understanding of what the transaction is about, but selling the non-regulated item seems to be enough to circumvent the intent of the law.
andrewcooke 14y ago
you can buy these books on the internet at places like AbeBooks and AdLibris. they're called "international editions" and sometimes are restricted to non-US customers (i think; i don't pay much attention because i am not in the US). sometimes the paper seems to be of lower quality (thinner). here's one http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=7512020183&searchurl=an%3Dcormen%26sts%3Dt http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=7512020183&... with, as far as i can tell, no restriction (it has US shipping rates).

gambiting 14y ago

the "not for resale" note on the cover is completely meaningless. They could also say "if you open this book you owe us 1 billion dollars" and the effect would also be the same - it would have zero ground to stand on in court.

rprasad 14y ago
Actually, when it comes to sales across borders, "Not for Resale Outside of [X country or region" has legal effect in every country that respects copyright. First-sale doctrine is a uniquely American idea; it only applies to (first) sales subject to the jurisdiction of American courts. I.e., it would apply to a sale by Amazon to some dude in Japan and to a sale by Amazon JP to some guy in California, but not to a sale by Amazon KOR to some guy in China, who then resells into the U.S.
- sjmulder 14y ago
  Of course the US laws on copyright only apply to the US, but the idea behind the first-sale doctrine exists elsewhere. I just looked up the Dutch rules[1], and it turns out it’s very much the same. When a work is sold, the copyrights are “exhausted” and can no longer be invoked for that copy. 1: http://www.iusmentis.com/auteursrecht/spoedcursus/beperkingen/ http://www.iusmentis.com/auteursrecht/spoedcursus/beperkinge... (Dutch)
  - Evbn 14y ago
    That doesn't say anything about a legal right to import a work created under abother country's laws, or a resident of another country's right to import a work from the Netherlands.
  - wtallis 14y ago
    While it appears from your link that the Netherlands may have something similar to first-sale doctrine, many European countries have the exact opposite, droit de suite, which allows for the original author (or their estate) to exercise control over any sale, not just the first.
    - ohashi 14y ago
      What is the argument in favor of that?
      - Terretta 14y ago
        So that when an artist sells a painting for $10 that gets resold for $100 million, the artist can realize some of the true value of the work they produced.
        ohashi 14y ago
        Why should they though? They thought it was worth $10. Why is their pricing mistake rewarded?
        Terretta 14y ago
        Appreciation.
    - kristofferR 14y ago
      It's not the exact opposite necessarily. It's very possible to have both the first-sale doctrine and droit de suite in the same copyright law. In Norway for example we have the first-sale doctrine, but when original versions of artwork, valued over 3000 Euro, are resold the original artist shall receive around 5% of the transaction (unless the artwork is sold to a museum that displays the art to the public).
- uptown 14y ago
  I've seen this handled on eBay by some by including a "safe" product which is listed as the item for sale, and "giving" away the item that's excluded from being resold. Basically the buyer and seller have a full understanding of what the transaction is about, but selling the non-regulated item seems to be enough to circumvent the intent of the law.

andrewcooke 14y ago

you can buy these books on the internet at places like AbeBooks and AdLibris. they're called "international editions" and sometimes are restricted to non-US customers (i think; i don't pay much attention because i am not in the US). sometimes the paper seems to be of lower quality (thinner). here's one http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=7512020183&searchurl=an%3Dcormen%26sts%3Dt http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=7512020183&... with, as far as i can tell, no restriction (it has US shipping rates).