Bobbs-Merrill Company v. Straus

210 U.S. 339 (1908)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P is the owner of the copyright upon 'The Castaway.' On the books that P printed and distributed immediately below the copyright notice on the page in the book following the title page is inserted the following notice: 'The price of this book at retail is one dollar net. No dealer is licensed to sell it at a less price, and a sale at a less price will be treated as an infringement of the copyright.” D purchased copies of the book for the purpose of selling the same at retail. Ninety percent of such copies were purchased by them at wholesale at a price below the retail price by about forty percent, and ten percent of the books purchased by them were purchased at retail, and the full price was paid therefor. At the time of purchase D, knew that it was a copyrighted book and was familiar with the terms of the notice printed in each copy thereof, as above set forth, and knew that this notice was printed in every copy of the book purchased by them. The wholesale dealers, from whom D purchased copies of the book, obtained the same either directly from the P or from other wholesale dealers at a discount from the net retail price, and at the time of their purchase knew that the book was a copyrighted book and was familiar with the terms of the notice printed in each copy thereof, as described above, and such knowledge was in all wholesale dealers through whom the books passed from the complainants to defendants. The wholesale dealers were under no agreement or obligation to enforce the observance of the terms of the notice by retail dealers or to restrict their sales to retail dealers who would agree to observe the terms stated in the notice. Ds sold copies of the book at retail at the uniform price of eighty-nine cents a copy, and are still selling, exposing for sale, and offering copies of the book at retail at the price of eighty-nine cents per copy, without the consent of P. P sued D and the court dismissed the case. The appeals court affirmed and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.