The Supreme Court is weighing a decision that will affect whether discounters can offer cheap goods from foreign manufacturers without violating U.S. Copyright law, says the AP.

Discounters like Costco, Target and Amazon buy goods abroad, then import them and resell them without the permission of the manufacturer. Customers benefit, because goods are generally priced cheaper abroad than in the US.

As you might imagine from all the region coding and other location based stuff that gets tacked on tot DVDs and software, this lawsuit is freaking out the entertainment industry. They don’t want a ruling that would encourage retailers to buy their products overseas and sell them to U.S. consumers for huge discounts.

The AP says the lawsuit stems from some Omega watches that were initially sold to an authorized distributor in Paraguay, but somehow ended up at Costco for about $700 cheaper than the suggested retail price.

High court reviews Costco sale of Swiss watches [Salon]

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