US Supreme Court split on parallel import ban

The US Supreme Court released their ruling on Omega v. Costco today, affirming the 9th Circuit ruling in favour of Omega. The case considered whether the first sale rule applied to copyrighted goods manufactured outside the United States (a previous case, Quality King, held that first sale applied to goods manufactured in the US, exported, and re-imported). The applicability of the first sale doctrine determines whether or not Costco can import grey market watches for sale in the US. The court was evenly split (the newest Justice took no part in the decision), therefore the ruling continues to be only binding in the 9th Circuit and was released without reasons.