Outcomes

For what it's worth, the court seems to be divided on this issue, as it is on many big-ticket cases. The court heard a similar case in 2010, Costco Wholesale v. Omega, where the judges split 4-4, according to Scotusblog. On that case, though, Justice Kagan had recused herself. She won't this time.

Interestingly, friend-of-the-court briefs for Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons Inc., asking the court to strike down the lower court's ruling, come from the nation's largest used bookstores, such as Strand Book Store in Manhattan, Powell's Books in Portland, and the Dallas-based chain Half-Price Books, as well as the charity Goodwill Industries, which runs thrift shops across the country. All groups say the Second Court's ruling could make it harder for their businesses to function.

Kerwin said it's impossible to predict which way the court will go, but for used bookshop owners and CT scanner importers alike there are at least some grounds for hope.

"The Supreme Court usually does not take cases on that it simply attends to affirm, so I'm hoping the Supreme Court will decide that the Second Circuit had it wrong," he said.

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