Copyright Case

Omega S.A. v. Costco Wholesale Corp. May 18, 2009, Costco Wholesale Corp. sold watches manufactured in Switzerland by Omega S.A. without Omega’s prior authorization. Omega used under the Copyright Act, claiming the sale of the watches was an infringement of the United States copyright. Costco defended on the grounds of the first sale doctrine, which provides a defense for reselling manufactured goods in the United States that are resold by retailers or distributors. Costco claims that the doctrine applies to the foreign-manufactured goods as well. Omega’s engraves a symbol on the underside of each watch known as the “Omega Globe Design”, this symbol has a United States copyright. On June 20th, 2012 the court awarded reasonable attorney fees and $396,844.17 to Costco.

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