US Supreme Court may take up Gray Market issue

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091224/0041137498.shtml

This all stems from Omega's claim that it is a copyright issue because of the sale of their watches at Costco.

I know that many believe that Gray markets exist because of asinine behavior on the part of manufacturers, or at least I do, but this should put a spotlight on such issues. Add to that the fact that Omega and the Swiss Mafia will not be playing on their home turf and this should be interesting IMHO.

Very interesting.

I picked up an Omega PO during Thanksgiving direct from Amazon for ~3100.
Have always been curious why it was all of a sudden available for under 3800 (lowest I'd seen to date).
Perhaps Amazon was dealing in Gray Market Omegas also.
The next day there were no more available that low - and none since.

Thanks
--
jaw

They better not ruin my Costco experience.

I would think they'd have better luck going after Costcos source. They had to buy them from someone, and in large quantities, should'nt be a problem to trace. You would think some AD had to sell to Costco or a third party at a considerable discount to make the deal work for Costco. They have a pretty extensive history of hardballing their suppliers. Look at the recent Costco-Coke flap.

Hmm THIS really is interesting !..I honestly did not know
all the ins and outs of the whole Gray Market thing !
I also wasn't sure that Omegas were really sold at Costco
either !..It's an intriguing topic, that's for sure !..Thanks !

merichar wrote:

I would think they'd have better luck going after Costcos source. They had to buy them from someone, and in large quantities, should'nt be a problem to trace. You would think some AD had to sell to Costco or a third party at a considerable discount to make the deal work for Costco. They have a pretty extensive history of hardballing their suppliers. Look at the recent Costco-Coke flap.

I'll bet they aren't anywhere near as bad as Wally World.

I've been trying to read the discussions on the 9th Circuit Courts ruling. The 9th has a reputation for being....errr....weird and this ruling certainly does nothing to rehab their reputation. Its convoluted, has serious holes in the "logic", and seems ...to this non-lawyer....poorly reasoned and written. If the Supremes take this up then they could overtune the 9th thereby setting law for the entire US or they could decide not to comment which would make the 9th's decision persuasive across the US but not conclusive as the law.

Anyway, I think its a transparent attempt by Swatch to increase their profits at the expense of BOTH their ADs and the consumer. My attitude is that unless the damn watch was stolen directly from Omega they have sold it to someone who in turn sold it and Omega has ZERO right to dictate to whom it is subsequently sold or under what circumstances that transaction takes place - period. If you don't want it to go out of your control them damn well only sell it through your own stores!