The Supreme Court is weighing whether Costco and other discount sellers can offer cut-rate goods from foreign manufacturers without violating U.S. copyright laws.

The justices heard argument Monday in a dispute between Costco and the Swiss watch maker Omega over a line of watches that Costco sold for a third less than they cost elsewhere.

The case has important implications for discount sellers like Costco and Target as well as eBay, Amazon and other companies that form an estimated $58 billion annual market for goods that are purchased abroad, then imported and resold without the permission of the manufacturer. The U.S.-based sellers, and consumers, benefit from the common practice of manufacturers to price items more cheaply abroad than in the United States.

The software, book, music and movie industries say a broad ruling for Costco also could threaten their ability to retain control over copyrighted works. By contrast, public and university libraries worry that a decision in favor of Omega could force them to withdraw foreign-made books from circulation.

Omega sued Costco for copyright infringement after the wholesale membership club offered Omega's Seamaster watch for $1,299. The suggested retail price was $1,995.

Costco purchased the watches from a company in New York. Omega initially sold at least some of the watches to an authorized distributor in Paraguay.

The high court already has ruled that copyright protections do not apply when the goods are made in the U.S., sold abroad and reimported. This case concerns only foreign-made items.

George M. von Stamwitz, a partner at Armstrong Teasdale and leader of the firm’s Environmental practice group, has been named the Best Lawyers’ 2011 St. Louis Environmental Lawyer of the Year. After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers designates “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” 

With more than 25 years of legal experience and 10 years of environmental risk transfer consulting, von Stamwitz has seen environmental risk in every conceivable business and regulatory context. He is also president of AT Environmental, LLC (www.atenv.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Armstrong Teasdale. In this role, von Stamwitz provides strategic environmental evaluations and risk transfer design services to national and international companies interested in divesting of environmental risk.

Von Stamwitz received his J.D., cum laude, from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1982 and his B.A., summa cum laude, from Tufts University in 1979.

Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 17th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2011) is based on more than 3.1 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

About Armstrong Teasdale LLP: Armstrong Teasdale LLP, with nearly 250 lawyers in offices across the U.S. and China, has a demonstrable track record of delivering sophisticated legal advice and exceptional service to a dynamic client base. Whether an issue is local or global, practice area specific or industry related, Armstrong Teasdale provides each client with an invaluable combination of legal resources and practical advice in nearly every area of law. For more information, please visit www.armstrongteasdale.com.

An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to five counts of tampering with records after authorities say he tried to get homes he didn't own listed in his name.

The charges against David Halsell came after Hamilton County Auditor employees noticed several of Halsell's companies filing large amounts of ownership transfer requests.

Prosecutors looked into the properties and say some of the buildings were in foreclosure and others belonged to dead people.

An appeals court on Friday overturned a judge's order for the release of a Guantanamo Bay detainee accused of helping al-Qaida recruit two men who became Sept. 11 hijackers.

A lower court judge had ruled Mohamedou Ould Salahi should be freed after eight years at Guantanamo because he was abused by interrogators at the U.S. military prison in Cuba and that tainted the evidence against him. Other classified information was insufficient to support a criminal prosecution, the judge ruled.

Salahi, now 40 years old, later retracted his confession to persuading the two men to travel to Afghanistan to train for jihad.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the Obama administration's request to order Salahi's continued detention. But the judges unanimously agreed the lower court must reconsider the case, given new legal opinions in other Guantanamo lawsuits.

A Nova Scotia man who burned a cross on the lawn of an inter-racial Nova Scotia couple earlier this year has been found guilty of inciting racial hatred.

Justin Rehberg will be sentenced in December.

The 20-year-old Rehberg had pleaded guilty to criminal harassment but not guilty to the charge of inciting racial hatred stemming from the Feb. 21 incident in Poplar Grove, N.S.

He was found guilty on both counts Friday, said CTV's Todd Battis, who was at the courthouse in Windsor. N.S.

Rehberg's lawyer argued that the act of burning a cross was not enough on its own to qualify as inciting racial hatred and pointed out that the community has supported the inter-racial couple through the process.

A former state lawmaker who championed legislation fighting child pornography was sentenced Thursday to a five-year term for viewing nude images of underage girls.
Neil Cohen will serve the term either in prison or a mental hospital. The state Corrections Department will decide which venue. He could become eligible for release and be placed under intense supervision in several months.

Appearing pale and unsteady, Cohen did not speak during sentencing. His lawyer told the judge the former assemblyman has been suicidal and has several mental health issues, including chronic depression. He has been hospitalized for months, according to the lawyer, Mark Tuohey.

Judge Gerald Council imposed sentence in Mercer County Superior Court.

"This is a sad day," the judge said. "But for this incident, he had an unblemished record."

Cohen pleaded guilty in April.

He served 17 years in the state Legislature as a Democrat representing Union County. He resigned following his arrest in July 2008.

The former lawmaker admitted viewing images of underaged girls on computers in his legislative office and law office.

Anthony Picione, the deputy attorney general who prosecuted the case, said 34 images of girls in various stages of undress were found on the computers. He said authorities have been able to match some of the images to photos on the list of Missing and Exploited Children.