UPDATE: We won! The Supreme Court ruled that we will retain our right to resell the things we own.

It's unreal. Any day now the U.S. Supreme Court will hand down a decision in the case Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons The Justices are currently debating whether you have the right to sell your stuff on eBay. Do you really own the smartphone or computer you’re using to read this? If you sold your books, would you be breaking the law? A federal court in New York says you would be, even if you legally paid for and bought them.

The facts in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons involve a textbook manufacturer suing an eBay user for selling the company's books online. There's just one problem -- the eBay user they are suing bought the books he sold fair and square. NBC News said the case "case could threaten eBay and garage sales," while The Wall Street Journal warned that "the case is likely to be a close call. The justices split 4-4 on the same legal question two years ago..."

The mainstream media is starting to catch on to the potential impact of Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, but so are the special interests who are trying to own us. It's unbelievable, but trademark and copyright holders are trying to use a legal loophole to take away your right to sell things that you own. Please add your name at right to fight back.

There's no time to lose. We've been told that our opponents are already meeting with members of Congress to try and sway them in case the Supreme Court stands up for the people. Demand Progress is joining up with a coalition of groups -- including many of those that came together to kill SOPA -- to support the rights of ordinary Internet users and everyday consumers. Please add your name at right to send an email to your members of Congress.

Thousands of websites have now joined our online protest and helped spread awareness to over 100,000 concerned Internet users. But we still need more people to know about the threat posed by a bad ruling in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons. If we lose this fight, practically anybody who wants to resell products they bought -- from MacBooks and iPhones to our clothing and textbooks -- will have to ask copyright holders for permission first. And they'll have the right to deny it!

It's bad for so many reasons: It'll undermine Craigslist and eBay, hurt the environment, increase incentives for manufacturers to move jobs off-shore, and effectively ban the traditional American yard sale. For more info, please check out Marvin Ammori's article about the lawsuit.

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