Yes -- They are probably Gray Market texts.   You would want to check the
copyright notice page to be sure.  But, from my ten years in the book
business (3 years selling subsidiary rights for international editions) and
having seen my MBA students with these books...it is the Gray Market!

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Bird [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 4:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: gray market textbooks?


Hello everyone,

This semester I am using a new edition of a West textbook for a upper
division course.  Students sought out the book online and have appeared with
"International Student Versions" in the class.  These versions are identical
but are in a paperback format.  Strategically placed stickers advertise the
website where the book was obtained.  If you lift up the stickers, the book
states in big letters that the textbook is not to be sold or used in the
United States.  Conveniently, the course is international business law and I
used the book as an example of the international gray market.  Am I right as
to what these textbooks are?  Are there any other legal issues relevant to
these rogue texts appearing in class?

Thanks!

Robert C. Bird
Assistant Professor
University of Connecticut
email: [log in to unmask]