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Online Attorney
amendment, which partially eliminated it, have borne out
predictions of positive economic benefits for all concerned,
including printers, printing trades union members, and the
public.
2. The provision places unjustified burdens on the author, who
is treated as a hostage. It hurts the author most where it
benefits the manufacturer least: in cases where the author must
publish abroad or not at all. It unfairly discriminates between
American authors and other authors, and between authors of books
and authors of other works.
3. The manufacturing clause violates the basic principle that
an author's rights should not be dependent on the circumstances
of manufacture. Complete repeal would substantially reduce
friction with foreign authors and publishers, increase
opportunities for American authors to have their works published,
encourage international publishing ventures, and eliminate the
tangle of procedural requirements now burdening authors,
publishers, the Copyright Office, and the United States Customs
Service.
4. Studies prove that the economic fears of the printing
industry and unions are unfounded. The vast bulk of American
titles are completely manufactured in the United States, and U.S.
exports of printed matter are much greater than imports. The
American book manufacturing industry is healthy and growing, to
the extent that it cannot keep pace with its orders. There are
increasing advantages to domestic manufacture because of improved
technology, and because of the delays, inconveniences, and other
disadvantages of foreign manufacture. Even with repeal, foreign
manufacturing would be confined to small editions and scholarly
works, some of which could not be published otherwise.
The following were the principal arguments in favor of retaining
some kind of manufacturing restriction.
1. The historical reasons for the manufacturing clause were valid
originally and still are. It is unrealistic to speak of this as a
"free trade" issue or of tariffs as offering any solution, since
book tariffs have been removed entirely under the Florence
Agreement. The manufacturing requirement remains a reasonable and
justifiable condition to the granting of a monopoly. There is no
problem of international comity, since only works by American
authors are affected by section 601. Foreign countries have many
kinds of import barriers, currency controls, and similar
restrictive devices comparable to a manufacturing requirement.
2. The differentials between U.S. and foreign wage rates in book
production are extremely broad and are not diminishing: Congress
should not create a condition whereby work can be done under the
most degraded working conditions in the world, be given free entry,
and thus exclude American manufacturers from the market. The
manufacturing clause has been responsible for a strong and enduring
industry. Repeal could destroy small businesses, bring chaos to the
industry, and catch manufacturers, whose labor costs and break-even
points are extremely high, in a cost-price squeeze at a time when
expenditures for new equipment have reduced profits to a minimum.
3. The high ratio of exports to imports could change very quickly
without a manufacturing requirement. Repeal would add to the
balance-of-payments deficit since foreign publishers never
manufacture here. The U.S. publishing industry has large
investments abroad, and attacks on the manufacturing clause by
foreign publishers, show a keen anticipation for new business. The
book publishers arguments that repeal would have no real economic
impact are contradicted by their arguments that the manufacturing
requirement is stifling scholarship and crippling publishing; their
own figures show a 250 percent rise in English-language book
imports in 10 years.
After carefully weighing these arguments, the Committee concludes
that there is no justification on principle for a manufacturing
requirement in the copyright statute, and although there may have
been some economic justification for it at one time, that
justification no longer exists. While it is true that section 601
represents a substantial liberalization and that it would remove
many of the inequities of the present manufacturing requirement,
the real issue is whether retention of a provision of this sort in
a copyright law can continue to be justified. The Committee
believes it cannot.
The Committee recognizes that immediate repeal of the
manufacturing requirement might have damaging effects in some
segments of the U.S. printing industry. It has therefore amended
section 601 to retain the liberalized requirement through the end
of 1980, but to repeal it definitively as of January 1, 1981. It
also adopted an amendment further ameliorating the effect of this
temporary legislation on individual American authors.
In view of this decision, the detailed discussion of section 601
that follows will cease to be of significance after 1980.
Works Subject to the Manufacturing Requirement. The scope of the
manufacturing requirement, as set out in subsections (a) and (b) of
section 601, is considerably more limited than that of present law.
The requirements apply to "a work consisting preponderantly of
nondramatic literary material that is in the English language and
is protected under this title," and would thus not extend to:
dramatic, musical, pictorial, or graphic works; foreign-language,
bilingual, or multilingual works; public domain material; or works
consisting preponderantly of material that is not subject to the
manufacturing requirement.
The term "literary material" does not connote any criterion of
literary merit or qualitative value; it includes catalogs,
directories and "similar materials."
A work containing "nondramatic literary material that is in the
English language and is protected under this title," and also
containing dramatic, musical, pictorial, graphic, foreign-language,
public domain, or other material that is not subject to the
manufacturing requirement, or any combination of these, is not
considered to consist "preponderantly" of the copyright-protected
nondramatic English-language literary material unless such material
exceeds the exempted material in importance. Thus, where the
literary material in a work consists merely of a foreword or
preface, and captions, headings, or brief descriptions or
explanations of pictorial, graphic or other nonliterary material,
the manufacturing requirement does not apply to the work in whole
or in part. In such case, the non-literary material clearly exceeds
the literary material in importance, and the entire work is free of
the manufacturing requirement.
On the other hand, if the copyright-protected non-dramatic
English-language literary material in the work exceeds the other
material in importance, then the manufacturing requirement applies.
For example, a work containing pictorial, graphic, or other
non-literary material is subject to the manufacturing requirement
if the non-literary material merely illustrates a textual narrative
or exposition, regardless of the relative amount of space occupied
by each kind of material. In such a case, the narrative or
exposition comprising the literary material plainly exceeds in
importance the non-literary material in the work. However, even
though such a work is subject to the manufacturing requirement,
only the portions consisting of copyrighted non-dramatic literary
material in English are required to be manufactured in the United
States or Canada. The illustrations may be manufactured elsewhere
without affecting their copyright status.
Under section 601(b)(1) works by American nationals domiciled
abroad for at least a year would be exempted. The manufacturing
requirement would generally apply only to works by American authors
domiciled here, and then only if none of the co-authors of the work
are foreign.
In order to make clear the application of the foreign-author
exemption to "works made for hire" - of which the employer or other
person for whom the work was prepared is considered the "author"
for copyright purposes - section 601(b)(1) provides that the
exemption does not apply unless a substantial part of the work was
prepared for an employer or other person who is not a national or
domiciliary of the United States, or a domestic corporation or
enterprise. The reference to "a domestic corporation or enterprise"
is intended to include a subsidiary formed by the domestic
corporation or enterprise primarily for the purpose of obtaining
the exemption.
The provision adopts a proposal put forward by various segments
of both the United States and the Canadian printing industries,
recommending an exemption for copies manufactured in Canada. Since
wage standards in Canada are substantially comparable to those in
the United States, the arguments for equal treatment under the
manufacturing clause are persuasive.
Limitations on Importation and Distribution of Copies
Manufactured Abroad. The basic purpose of the temporary
manufacturing requirements of section 601, like that of the present
manufacturing clause, is to induce the manufacture of an edition in
the United States if more than a certain limited number of copies
are to be distributed in this country. Subsection (a) therefore
provides in general that "the importation into or public
distribution in the United States" of copies not complying with the
manufacturing clause is prohibited. Subsection (b) then sets out
the exceptions to this prohibition, and clause (2) of that
subsection fixes the importation limit at 2,000 copies.
Additional exceptions to the copies affected by the manufacturing
requirements are set out in clauses (3) through (7) of subsection
(b). Clause (3) permits importation of copies for governmental use,
other than in schools, by the United States or by "any State or
political subdivision of a State." Clause (4) allows importation
for personal use of "no more than one copy of any work at any one
time," and also exempts copies in the baggage of persons arriving
from abroad and copies intended for the library collection of
nonprofit scholarly, educational, or religious organizations.
Braille copies are completely exempted under clause (5), and clause
(6) permits the public distribution in the United States of copies
allowed entry by the other clauses of that subsection. Clause (7)
is a new exception, covering cases in which an individual American
author has, through choice or necessity, arranged for publication
of his work by a foreign rather than a domestic publisher.
What Constitutes "Manufacture in the United States" or Canada. A
difficult problem in the manufacturing clause controversy involves
the restrictions to be imposed on foreign typesetting or
composition. Under what they regard as a loophole in the present
law, a number of publishers have for years been having their
manuscripts set in type abroad, importing "reproduction proofs,"
and then printing their books from offset plates "by lithographic
process * * * wholly performed in the United States." The language
of the statute on this point is ambiguous and, although the
publishers' practice has received some support from the Copyright
Office, there is a question as to whether or not it violates the
manufacturing requirements.
In general the book publishers have opposed any definition of
domestic manufacture that would close the "repro proof" loophole or
that would interfere with their use of new techniques of book
production, including use of imported computer tapes for
composition here. This problem was the focal point of a compromise
agreement between representatives of the book publishers and
authors on the one side and of typographical firms and printing
trades unions on the other, and the bill embodies this compromise
as a reasonable solution to the problem.
Under subsection (c) the manufacturing requirement is confined to
the following processes: (1) Typesetting and platemaking, "where
the copies are printed directly from type that has been set, or
directly from plates made from such type"; (2) the making of
plates, "where the making of plates by a lithographic or
photoengraving process is a final or intermediate step preceding
the printing of the copies"; and (3) in all cases, the "printing or
other final process of producing multiple copies and any binding of
the copies." Under the subsection there would be nothing to prevent
the importation of reproduction proofs, however they were prepared,
as long as the plates from which the copies are printed are made
here and are not themselves imported. Similarly, the importation of
computer tapes from which plates can be prepared here would be
permitted. However, regardless of the process involved, the actual
duplication of multiple copies, together with any binding, are
required to be done in the United States or Canada.
Effect of Noncompliance with Manufacturing Requirement.
Subsection (d) of section 601 makes clear that compliance with the
manufacturing requirements no longer constitutes a condition of
copyright with respect to reproduction and the distribution of
copies. The bill does away with the special "ad interim" time
limits and registration requirements of the present law and, even
if copies are imported or distributed in violation of the section,
there would be no effect on the copyright owner's right to make and
distribute phonorecords of the work, to make derivative works
including dramatizations and motion pictures, and to perform or
display the work publicly. Even the rights to reproduce and
distribute copies are not lost in cases of violation, although they
are limited as against certain infringers.
Subsection (d) provides a complete defense in any civil action or
criminal proceeding for infringement of the exclusive rights of
reproduction or distribution of copies where, under certain
circumstances, the defendant proves violation of the manufacturing
requirements. The defense is limited to infringement of the
"nondramatic literary material comprised in the work and any other
parts of the work in which the exclusive rights to reproduce and
distribute copies are owned by the same person who owns such
exclusive rights in the nondramatic literary material." This means,
for example, that the owner of copyright in photographs or
illustrations published in a book copyrighted by someone else who
would not be deprived of rights against an infringer who proves
that there had been a violation of section 601.
Section 601(d) places the full burden for proving violation on
the infringer. The infringer's defense must be based on proof that:
(1) copies in violation of section 601 have been imported or
publicly distributed in the United States "by or with the
authority" of the copyright owner; and (2) that the infringing
copies complied with the manufacturing requirements; and (3) that
the infringement began before an authorized edition complying with
the requirements had been registered. The third of these clauses of
subsection (d) means, in effect, that a copyright owner can
reinstate full exclusive rights by manufacturing an edition in the
United States and making registration for it.
Subsection (e) requires the plaintiff in any infringement action
involving publishing rights in material subject to the
manufacturing clause to identify the manufacturers of the copies in
his complaint. Correspondingly, section 409 would require the
manufacturers to be identified in applications for registration
covering published works subject to the requirements of section
601.
AMENDMENTS
1997 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105-80, Sec. 12(a)(15), substituted
"nondramatic" for "nondramtic".
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105-80, Sec. 12(a)(16), substituted
"substantial" for "subsustantial" before "part of the work".
1982 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97-215 substituted "1986" for "1982".
-TRANS-
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of
the United States Customs Service of the Department of the
Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury
relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for
treatment of related references, see sections 203(1), 551(d),
552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department
of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as
modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.
-SECREF-
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 409, 602 of this title.
-End-
-CITE-
17 USC Sec. 602 01/19/04
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 17 - COPYRIGHTS
CHAPTER 6 - MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS AND IMPORTATION
-HEAD-
Sec. 602. Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords
-STATUTE-
(a) 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 acquired outside the United States is an
infringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or
phonorecords under section 106, actionable under section 501. This
subsection does not apply to -
(1) importation 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;
(2) importation, for the private use of the importer 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 with respect to
copies or phonorecords forming part of such person's personal
baggage; or
(3) importation by or for an organization operated for
scholarly, educational, or religious purposes and not for private
gain, with respect to no more than one copy of an audiovisual
work solely for its archival purposes, and no more than five
copies or phonorecords of any other work for its library lending
or archival purposes, unless the importation of such copies or
phonorecords is part of an activity consisting of systematic
reproduction or distribution, engaged in by such organization in
violation of the provisions of section 108(g)(2).
(b) 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, the United
States Customs Service has no authority to prevent their
importation unless the provisions of section 601 are applicable. In
either case, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to
prescribe, 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 the
Customs Service of the importation of articles that appear to be
copies or phonorecords of the work.
-SOURCE-
(Pub. L. 94-553, title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2589.)
-MISC1-
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 approach of
section 602 is to make unauthorized importation an act of
infringement in both cases, but to permit the United States Customs
Service to prohibit importation only of "piratical" articles.
Section 602(a) first states the general rule that unauthorized
importation is an infringement merely if the copies or phonorecords
"have been acquired outside the United States", but then enumerates
three specific exceptions: (1) importation under the authority or
for the use of a governmental body, but not including material for
use in schools or copies of an audiovisual work imported for any
purpose other than archival use; (2) importation for the private
use of the importer of no more than one copy or phonorecord of a
work at a time, or of articles in the personal baggage of travelers
from abroad; or (3) importation by nonprofit organizations
"operated for scholarly, educational, or religious purposes" of "no
more than one copy of an audiovisual work solely for archival
purposes, and no more than five copies or phonorecords of any other
work for its library lending or archival purposes." The bill
specifies that the third exception does not apply if the
importation "is part of an activity consisting of systematic
reproduction or distribution, engaged in by such organization in
violation of the provisions of section 108(g)(2)."
If none of the three exemptions applies, any unauthorized
importer of copies or phonorecords acquired abroad could be sued
for damages and enjoined from making any use of them, even before
any public distribution in this country has taken place.
Importation of "Piratical" Copies. Section 602(b) retains the
present statute's prohibition against importation of "piratical"
copies or phonorecords - those whose making "would have constituted
an infringement of copyright if this title has been applicable."
Thus, the Customs Service could exclude copies or phonorecords that
were unlawful in the country where they were made; it could also
exclude copies or phonorecords which, although made lawfully under
the domestic law of that country, would have been unlawful if the
U.S. copyright law could have been applied. A typical example would
be a work by an American author which is in the public domain in a
foreign country because that country does not have copyright
relations with the United States; the making and publication of an
authorized edition would be lawful in that country, but the Customs
Service could prevent the importation of any copies of that
edition.
Importation for Infringing Distribution. The second situation
covered by section 602 is that where the copies or phonorecords
were lawfully made but their distribution in the United States
would infringe the U.S. copyright owner's exclusive rights. As
already said, the mere act of importation in this situation would
constitute an act of infringement and could be enjoined. However,
in cases of this sort it would be impracticable for the United
States Customs Service to attempt to enforce the importation
prohibition, and section 602(b) provides that, unless a violation
of the manufacturing requirements is also involved, the Service has
no authority to prevent importation, "where the copies or
phonorecords were lawfully made." The subsection would authorize
the establishment of a procedure under which copyright owners could
arrange for the Customs Service to notify them wherever articles
appearing to infringe their works are imported.
-TRANS-
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of
the United States Customs Service of the Department of the
Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury
relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for
treatment of related references, see sections 203(1), 551(d),
552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department
of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as
modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.
-SECREF-
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 501, 511, 603 of this
title.
-End-
-CITE-
17 USC Sec. 603 01/19/04
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 17 - COPYRIGHTS
CHAPTER 6 - MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS AND IMPORTATION
-HEAD-
Sec. 603. Importation prohibitions: Enforcement and disposition of
excluded articles
-STATUTE-
(a) The Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Postal
Service shall separately or jointly make regulations for the
enforcement of the provisions of this title prohibiting
importation.
(b) These regulations
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