body: Many older books printed for the UK market (most notably *The Great Gatsby*) had text on the back cover resembling the following:
  
  
  
  > 
  > For copyright reasons this book is not for sale in the U.S.A.
  > 
  > 
  > 
  
  
  Under [*Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirtsaeng_v._John_Wiley_%26_Sons,_Inc.), I'm pretty sure this has no legal meaning in the US any more, but I have some questions:
  
  
  * What was the historical basis for this notice?
  * Is this notice indeed legally void in the United States under *Kirtsaeng* (assuming the book was lawfully acquired in the UK or its territories)? In other works, could I legally sell such a book in the US?
  
  
  
title: Kirtsaeng and books from the UK marked "not for sale in the U.S.A."