High Court Split in Costco Copyright Case

The Supreme Court said Monday that it deadlocked by a 4-4 vote and will not decide a copyright infringement case involving Costco Wholesale (NYSE:COST) over reselling luxury imported Swiss-made watches produced by a Swatch Group unit.

In a case between the top U.S. warehouse club and the world's largest watchmaker (NYSE:SWGAY), the justices simply affirmed a U.S. appeals court ruling that Swatch's Omega unit retained the rights to watches it made and sold abroad that later were imported into this country.

The Supreme Court's action was not a ruling on the merits of the dispute and it does not set a national precedent, but it does have the result of resolving the case in Omega's favor.