THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Friday, November 2, 2012 3
NEWS
High Court Hears Case Over Textbook Resale
The lowdown
By UTSAV RAI Sun Staff Writer
MICHELLE FELDMAN / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Developer Josh Lower ’05 discusses Collegetown Crossing, a proposed building development that would include a GreenStar Cooperative Market, at a public information session Thurday at the College Ave. site.
NYCTech Gets $5M for 1st Endowed Prof By JACOB GLICK
had created its first endowed position earlier than it had expected, Huttenlocher said. He called the development a “big boost” in the tech campus’ A $5 million dollar gift given in honor of a fundraising efforts. recently deceased Cornell alumnus will be used to The professorship will be open to a faculty hire fund the first endowed professorship at the tech who specializes in any technology field offered at campus, the University announced last month. CornellNYC Tech, Huttenlocher said. Potential Robert Tishman ’37, a native New Yorker and areas of expertise for the Tishman founder’s chair are the founder of Tishman Speyer Properties, one of computer science, information science and electrical the world’s largest real estate companies, died in or computer engineering, according to a University 2010 at the age of 94. The gift — $3 million from press release. Tishman’s estate and $2-million donation from the As a supporter of Boys & Girls Harbor, an East company — will be used to create the Harlem-based nonprofit, and a chairman Robert V. Tishman Founder’s Chair, at the Montefiore Medical Center, according to Dan Huttenlocher, dean of Tishman had a lifelong commitment to the tech campus. philanthropy. Tishman also helped fund Huttenlocher said the establishment computer facilities and technology at varof the first “founders’ chair” professor on ious New York City institutions, the campus represents a major step forward University stated. for the tech campus as it seeks to attract The founder’s chair for Cornell’s tech prominent faculty to the campus. A campus represents “a perfect testimonial founder’s chair, which is funded by an to [Tishman’s] major philanthropic established endowment — in this case, interests,” Tishman’s daughter, Lynn TISHMAN ’37 Tishman’s $5 million gift — relieves the Handler, said in a press release. University of needing to pay for the position entire“[Tishman was] an early believer in the power of ly out of its operating budget. computer technology, particularly as it affected Huttenlocher said that the administration plans education,” Handler said. “The combination of a to increase the number of founders’ chairs in an major educational facility in New York City that attempt to bring in a whole “cohort of star faculty.” was engaged in the development of information “The founders’ chairs are an important compo- technology would have been truly exciting for nent of our plans for the new campus, both in terms him.” of helping us attract and retain star faculty, and in Huttenlocher said that the tech campus’ adminterms of the financial support to create and grow istration is grateful for Tishman’s donation — a gift that faculty,” Huttenlocher said. that he said will help fuel the next stage of the camMany of the “star faculty” CornellNYC Tech pus’ development. hopes to bring in already hold endowed chair posi“We are extremely grateful to the Handlertions at other prestigious universities, according to Tishman family for their support of this exciting Huttenlocher. He added that the University does new endeavor,” he said. not yet have specific candidates in mind for the new post. Jacob Glick can be reached at The tech campus was able to announce that it jglick@cornellsun.com. Sun Staff Writer
A high-profile Supreme Court case that may redefine the retail market began with an alumnus who resold textbooks manufactured abroad in the U.S. may put a stop to people reselling goods they own. On Monday, the court heard oral arguments in an appeals case waged by Supap Kirtsaeng ’02, who was ordered to pay $600,000 after losing a copyright infringement case in August 2011. The case, Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons Inc., addresses the legality of purchasing textbooks manufactured abroad and reselling them in the United States. Kirtsaeng, a Thailand native, was attending graduate school at the University of Southern California after graduating from Cornell. After friends and family sent Kirtsaeng textbooks they had purchased abroad, he resold $900,000 worth of books at a higher price on eBay, according to The Associated Press. Eight of these books were published by the Asian subsidiary of publishing company John Wiley & Sons, which successfully sued Kirtsaeng for copyright infringement in May 2010. The case could have much broader implications than its ruling on Kirtsaeng’s lawsuit. At a hearing Monday, several justices expressed concern over granting copyright holders such as John Wiley & Sons the right to block the resale of goods that were first purchased overseas, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Justice Stephen Breyer appeared skeptical Monday of the plaintiff’s claims. According to The Journal, Breyer questioned whether copyright laws could be violated by consumers who resold products like used Toyota cars — which may contain GPS systems that were manufactured abroad — or by libraries and art museums who lend or display foreignmade works. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’54 seemed to lean toward supporting Wiley. The Journal reported that when Kirtsaeng’s lawyer suggested that a ruling in favor of Wiley would give copyright holders the right to repeatedly resell goods if they were made abroad, Ginsburg asked, “Has that ever happened?” Companies that sell many of their products online — such as eBay, Google and Costco — have also weighed in on the case. In court documents, companies claimed that a ruling against Kirtsaeng could “threaten the increasingly important e-commerce sector of the economy” by affecting the sale of goods online and in discount stores, the AP reported. Lawyers for organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Association of American Publishers have countered that stringent copyright laws are “fundamental to the creative industries.” Tracy Mitrano, director of IT law and policy at Cornell, said that the case could affect the resale of a variety of goods procured abroad that are protected by copyright laws. She also added that one of the more contentious aspects of the case is the application of U.S. copyright law on the international stage. “No one thought about how inappropriate it was to extend U.S. copyright law, already content-owner heavy, onto developing nations,” she said. Peter Hirtle, senior policy advisor for digital scholarship and preservation services for the Cornell Library, echoed Mitrano’s assessment that the case highlights some faults in U.S. copyright law. “The case highlights the problems that can result when support for specific business models — in this case, differential geographic pricing — is built into the Copyright Act,” he said. Hirtle added that the court should make it clear that “first sale rights apply to all copyrighted works, regardless of place of manufacturing” and that issues surrounding the regulation of “so-called ‘gray market goods’ are best addressed outside of copyright law.” Utsav Rai can be reached at urai@cornellsun.com.
Frat humor
What was the worst, scariest or best Halloween costume you spotted at Cornell this week? “A girl running around Collegetown dressed as a giant baked potato. Like, what?” — Color Me Baffled ’14 “My roommate dressed up as a raisin — as in she wore a trash bag.” — Sane Roommate ’15 “A trio of girls dressed as the 2012 NHL lockout: NHL, NHCPA and hockey-related revenue. Oh wait, that was me...” — Conceited Sports Fan ’13 ZAC PETERSON / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
— Compiled by Sylvia Rusnak
College Humor writer and comedian Steve Hofstetter performs an hour-long stand-up routine at the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity house Thursday.