The Kirtsaeng and SCI-HUB Cases: The Major US Copyright Cases in the Twenty-First Century

There has been a plethora of substantive copyright cases in the history of the United States. Two of the most important cases in the last few years were: the Kirtsaeng case before the Supreme Court of the United States; and the SCI-HUB case before the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York. This paper addressed the key copyright issues raised in each case, including a discussion of relevant sections of the Copyright Law of the United States (17 U.S.C.) as well as suggestions the book and scholarly journal industries could consider addressing the insidious impact of copyright violations.