Is it legal (USA) and ethical to use international edition textbooks? When I pay for a textbook, where does the money go?
The US Supreme Court ruled that it is legal to buy and sell international editions of textbooks. As for the ethics, it clearly goes against the wishes of the publisher, so one might conclude that despite being legal that it is unethical. As for where the money is going, I believe most big publishers are publicly held, so the profits in general go to the share holders. Of course the costs include the salaries of the executives, royalties to authors, and the salaries of the individuals running the printing press.