Before you buy an expensive book or music CD collection, check the price online at .com sites and foreign domains, such as .co.uk for the U.K., or .de for Germany. Even after taxes and shipping costs, the price differences are noticeable. In many cases, you can save a few bucks. How come, you may ask. The economy is becoming evermore global. Highly efficient online marketplaces should level the playing field and pricing.
One reason is that laws are still not as global as markets. Every country has enacted its own national intellectual property law regime that it considers best suited to promote commerce and innovation. This allows intellectual property owners to control where their products are sold. Once a copyright owner has sold a particular copy of a book, movie DVD, music CD or other product, in most countries the buyer is free to resell such a copy without further authorization. The copyright owner has already been compensated with respect to such particular copy. This principle is referred to as "first sale doctrine" or "exhaustion."
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