17 U.S.C. § 602 : US Code - Section 602: Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords

Search 17 U.S.C. § 602 : US Code - Section 602: Infringing importation of copies or phonorecords

(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.