By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Supreme Court ruled that books and other goods produced overseas can be imported into the United States without the permission of the copyright holder. The court was considering the sale of imported textbooks on eBay that had been produced for a different market and were being sold at a different price than in the United States. At issue was the “first-sale” doctrine, which generally allows owners of a product made in the United States to decide whether they want to resell the product. The question was whether the doctrine applied to goods made overseas. The Court ruled that the Copyright Act’s term did not specify geographic boundaries and, therefore, was not limited to the United States.

The first-sale doctrine applies to trademark law as well, with one exception. The owner of a U.S. trademark registration may bar the unauthorized import of “gray-market” goods sold outside the company’s normal distribution channel if the trademark owner’s overseas product has a physical and material difference tailored for a particular foreign market.  

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

The Supreme Court ruled that books and other goods produced overseas can be imported into the United States without the permission of the copyright holder. The court was considering the sale of imported textbooks on eBay that had been produced for a different market and were being sold at a different price than in the United States. At issue was the “first-sale” doctrine, which generally allows owners of a product made in the United States to decide whether they want to resell the product. The question was whether the doctrine applied to goods made overseas. The Court ruled that the Copyright Act’s term did not specify geographic boundaries and, therefore, was not limited to the United States.

The first-sale doctrine applies to trademark law as well, with one exception. The owner of a U.S. trademark registration may bar the unauthorized import of “gray-market” goods sold outside the company’s normal distribution channel if the trademark owner’s overseas product has a physical and material difference tailored for a particular foreign market.  

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

SEMA is supporting North Carolina legislation to provide for the prompt issuance of titles to owners of out-of-state motor vehicles that are 35 years old or older. Under the bill, if a required inspection and verification is not conducted by the Division of Motor Vehicles within 10 days after receiving a request and the inspector has no probable cause to believe that the ownership documents or public vehicle identification number does not match the vehicle being examined, the vehicle will be deemed to have satisfied all inspection and verification requirements and the title will be issued to the owner within 10 days. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

SEMA is supporting North Carolina legislation to provide for the prompt issuance of titles to owners of out-of-state motor vehicles that are 35 years old or older. Under the bill, if a required inspection and verification is not conducted by the Division of Motor Vehicles within 10 days after receiving a request and the inspector has no probable cause to believe that the ownership documents or public vehicle identification number does not match the vehicle being examined, the vehicle will be deemed to have satisfied all inspection and verification requirements and the title will be issued to the owner within 10 days. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

SEMA is supporting North Carolina legislation to provide for the prompt issuance of titles to owners of out-of-state motor vehicles that are 35 years old or older. Under the bill, if a required inspection and verification is not conducted by the Division of Motor Vehicles within 10 days after receiving a request and the inspector has no probable cause to believe that the ownership documents or public vehicle identification number does not match the vehicle being examined, the vehicle will be deemed to have satisfied all inspection and verification requirements and the title will be issued to the owner within 10 days. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

SEMA-model legislation to create a vehicle titling and registration classification for street rods and custom vehicles has been reintroduced in the New York State Senate and Assembly. The bill defines a street rod as an altered vehicle manufactured before 1949 and a custom as an altered vehicle at least 25 years old and manufactured after 1948. Under the bill, kit cars and replica vehicles will be assigned a certificate of title bearing the same model-year designation as the production vehicle they most closely resemble. An identical bill has been introduced in the New York Senate. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

SEMA-model legislation to create a vehicle titling and registration classification for street rods and custom vehicles has been reintroduced in the New York State Senate and Assembly. The bill defines a street rod as an altered vehicle manufactured before 1949 and a custom as an altered vehicle at least 25 years old and manufactured after 1948. Under the bill, kit cars and replica vehicles will be assigned a certificate of title bearing the same model-year designation as the production vehicle they most closely resemble. An identical bill has been introduced in the New York Senate. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

SEMA-model legislation to create a vehicle titling and registration classification for street rods and custom vehicles has been reintroduced in the New York State Senate and Assembly. The bill defines a street rod as an altered vehicle manufactured before 1949 and a custom as an altered vehicle at least 25 years old and manufactured after 1948. Under the bill, kit cars and replica vehicles will be assigned a certificate of title bearing the same model-year designation as the production vehicle they most closely resemble. An identical bill has been introduced in the New York Senate. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Legislation has been introduced in Texas to increase the emissions inspection period from an annual requirement to every five years. This bill would not affect a requirement that an emissions inspection be conducted during an initial inspection period in a county covered by testing. The measure acknowledges that it is senseless to test vehicles every year when the results demonstrate no significant air-quality benefits. The idea behind creating longer inspection periods is to reduce costs while not losing appreciable emissions reductions. This strategy builds support for emissions-inspection programs, but also directs finite resources to where they will be most valuable in cleaning the air. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff

Legislation has been introduced in Texas to increase the emissions inspection period from an annual requirement to every five years. This bill would not affect a requirement that an emissions inspection be conducted during an initial inspection period in a county covered by testing. The measure acknowledges that it is senseless to test vehicles every year when the results demonstrate no significant air-quality benefits. The idea behind creating longer inspection periods is to reduce costs while not losing appreciable emissions reductions. This strategy builds support for emissions-inspection programs, but also directs finite resources to where they will be most valuable in cleaning the air. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.