In Brief: Quality King v. L'Anza
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Quality King v. L'Anza: Supreme Court hearing to review the parameters of gray market goods set for Dec. 8 at 10 a.m. The hearing was requested by Quality King following a Pasadena, Calif. federal appeals court decision in favor of Azura, Calif.-based L'Anza Research International that concluded Quality King's distribution of L'Anza salon hair care products is considered the gray market ("The Rose Sheet" Sept. 29, p. 6). In an Aug. 6 writ of certiorari, Quality King asserts under the "first sale" doctrine of the Copyright Act of 1976, a company has the right to sell copyrighted product once the initial sale has commenced. L'Anza had shipped the products in question for sale overseas. The items later reappeared in the U.S. and were distributed by Quality King. L'Anza subsequently copyrighted parts of the products' labels...