17 U.S.C. § 601 — Untitled legal text

Page 180 TITLE 17—COPYRIGHTS [§ 601 1 So in original. Does not conform to section catchline. (Added Pub. L. 105–298, title II, § 203(a), Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2831, § 512; renumbered § 513, Pub. L. 106–44, § 1(c)(1), Aug. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 221.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1999—Pub. L. 106–44 renumbered section 512 of this title as this section. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 90 days after Oct. 27, 1998, see sec- tion 207 of Pub. L. 105–298, set out as an Effective Date of 1998 Amendment note under section 101 of this title. CHAPTER 6—IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION Sec. [601. Repealed.] 602.1 Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords. 603. Importation prohibitions: Enforcement and disposition of excluded articles. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2010—Pub. L. 111–295, § 4(a), (b)(1)(A), Dec. 9, 2010, 124 Stat. 3180, substituted ‘‘IMPORTATION AND EXPOR- TATION’’ for ‘‘MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS, IMPORTATION, AND EXPORTATION’’ in chapter heading and struck out item 601 ‘‘Manufacture, impor- tation, and public distribution of certain copies’’. 2008—Pub. L. 110–403, title I, § 105(a), Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4259, substituted ‘‘MANUFACTURING REQUIRE- MENTS, IMPORTATION, AND EXPORTATION’’ for ‘‘MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS AND IMPOR- TATION’’ in chapter heading. [§ 601. Repealed. Pub. L. 111–295, § 4(a), Dec. 9, 2010, 124 Stat. 3180] Section, Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2588; Pub. L. 97–215, July 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 178; Pub. L. 105–80, § 12(a)(15), (16), Nov. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1535; Pub. L. 110–403, title I, § 105(c)(2), Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4260, related to manufacture, importation, and public distribution of certain copies of nondramatic English- language literary material protected under this title. § 602. Infringing importation or exportation of copies or phonorecords (a) INFRINGING IMPORTATION OR EXPORTATION.— (1) IMPORTATION.—Importation into the United States, without the authority of the owner of copyright under this title, of copies or phonorecords of a work that have been ac- quired outside the United States is an in- fringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or phonorecords under section 106, ac- tionable under section 501. (2) IMPORTATION OR EXPORTATION OF INFRING- ING ITEMS.—Importation into the United States or exportation from the United States, without the authority of the owner of copy- right under this title, of copies or phonorecords, the making of which either con- stituted an infringement of copyright, or which would have constituted an infringement of copyright if this title had been applicable, is an infringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or phonorecords under sec- tion 106, actionable under sections 501 and 506. (3) EXCEPTIONS.—This subsection does not apply to— (A) importation or exportation of copies or phonorecords under the authority or for the use of the Government of the United States or of any State or political subdivision of a State, but not including copies or phonorecords for use in schools, or copies of any audiovisual work imported for purposes other than archival use; (B) importation or exportation, for the pri- vate use of the importer or exporter and not for distribution, by any person with respect to no more than one copy or phonorecord of any one work at any one time, or by any person arriving from outside the United States or departing from the United States with respect to copies or phonorecords form- ing part of such person’s personal baggage; or (C) importation by or for an organization operated for scholarly, educational, or reli- gious purposes and not for private gain, with respect to no more than one copy of an audiovisual work solely for its archival pur- poses, and no more than five copies or phonorecords of any other work for its li- brary lending or archival purposes, unless the importation of such copies or phonorecords is part of an activity con- sisting of systematic reproduction or dis- tribution, engaged in by such organization in violation of the provisions of section 108(g)(2). (b) IMPORT PROHIBITION.—In a case where the making of the copies or phonorecords would have constituted an infringement of copyright if this title had been applicable, their importation is prohibited. In a case where the copies or phonorecords were lawfully made, United States Customs and Border Protection has no authority to prevent their importation. In either case, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to pre- scribe, by regulation, a procedure under which any person claiming an interest in the copyright in a particular work may, upon payment of a specified fee, be entitled to notification by United States Customs and Border Protection of the importation of articles that appear to be copies or phonorecords of the work. (Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2589; Pub. L. 110–403, title I, § 105(b), (c)(1), Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4259, 4260; Pub. L. 111–295, § 4(c), Dec. 9, 2010, 124 Stat. 3181.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES HOUSE REPORT NO. 94–1476 Scope of the Section. Section 602, which has nothing to do with the manufacturing requirements of section 601, deals with two separate situations: importation of ‘‘piratical’’ articles (that is, copies or phonorecords made without any authorization of the copyright owner), and unauthorized importation of copies or phonorecords that were lawfully made. The general ap- proach of section 602 is to make unauthorized importa- tion an act of infringement in both cases, but to permit the United States Customs Service to prohibit importa- tion only of ‘‘piratical’’ articles.