> U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Books Printed and Sold Abroad May Be Freely Resold in the U.S. Because the Copyrights Are Exhausted Under the First-Sale Doctrine
In any case, it’s perfectly legal for me to make and sell a geo-locked device in another country, and it is the importer’s problem if fails to work elsewhere. That doesn’t tend to happen with physical books, obviously.
It sounds like Sol-Ark would have preferred that Deye not sold the products, and may even be able to sue Deye, but nobody illegally acquired anything.
But that’s an issue between the manufacturer and the distributors which can then sue each other for breach of contract, right? The “authorized reseller” thing shouldn’t matter to the end consumer, as soon as I have the product, it’s as legitimate as every other purchase.
Let's say a guy in China buys the product from Deye, who stipulates under Chinese law that this is only for use in China and not authorized for export. The guy sells it on to you in the US anyway (so let's call him a "scammer" for violating law and misrepresenting the product to you, and innocent consumer looking for a good deal).
Why should Deye respect your rights at all and not brick the device? What rights should you have under Chinese law? If they don't brick the device, how can they disincentivize the scammers at scale? Sure you can say they should prosecute and rely on the deterrent aspect of the penal system, but that is not really going to be effective.
Basically it boils down to what rights the victims of scammers and criminals have. If you unknowingly bought stolen diamonds, what rights do you have when the original owner comes knocking?