Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'Anza Research International, Inc.

Section 106(3) of the Copyright Act of 1976 (Act), 17 U. S. C. § 106(3), gives the owner of a copyright the exclusive right to distribute copies of a copyrighted work. That exclusive right is expressly limited, however, by the provisions of §§ 107 through 120. Section 602(a) gives the copyright owner the right to prohibit the unauthorized importation of copies. The question presented by this ease is whether the right granted by § 602(a) is also limited by §§ 107 through 120. More narrowly, the question is whether the “first sale” doctrine endorsed in § 109(a) is applicable to imported copies.

I