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COPYRIGHT ACT
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Copyright Act
« 17 USC Sec. 909 | Index | 17 USC Sec. 911 »
17 USC Sec. 910 - Enforcement of exclusive rights
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person who
violates any of the exclusive rights of the owner of a mask work
under this chapter, by conduct in or affecting commerce, shall be
liable as an infringer of such rights. As used in this subsection,
the term ''any person'' includes any State, any instrumentality of
a State, and any officer or employee of a State or instrumentality
of a State acting in his or her official capacity. Any State, and
any such instrumentality, officer, or employee, shall be subject to
the provisions of this chapter in the same manner and to the same
extent as any nongovernmental entity.
(b)(1) The owner of a mask work protected under this chapter, or
the exclusive licensee of all rights under this chapter with
respect to the mask work, shall, after a certificate of
registration of a claim of protection in that mask work has been
issued under section 908, be entitled to institute a civil action
for any infringement with respect to the mask work which is
committed after the commencement of protection of the mask work
under section 904(a).
(2) In any case in which an application for registration of a
claim of protection in a mask work and the required deposit of
identifying material and fee have been received in the Copyright
Office in proper form and registration of the mask work has been
refused, the applicant is entitled to institute a civil action for
infringement under this chapter with respect to the mask work if
notice of the action, together with a copy of the complaint, is
served on the Register of Copyrights, in accordance with the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Register may, at his or her
option, become a party to the action with respect to the issue of
whether the claim of protection is eligible for registration by
entering an appearance within sixty days after such service, but
the failure of the Register to become a party to the action shall
not deprive the court of jurisdiction to determine that issue.
(c)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Postal
Service shall separately or jointly issue regulations for the
enforcement of the rights set forth in section 905 with respect to
importation. These regulations may require, as a condition for the
exclusion of articles from the United States, that the person
seeking exclusion take any one or more of the following actions:
(A) Obtain a court order enjoining, or an order of the
International Trade Commission under section 337 of the Tariff
Act of 1930 excluding, importation of the articles.
(B) Furnish proof that the mask work involved is protected
under this chapter and that the importation of the articles would
infringe the rights in the mask work under this chapter.
(C) Post a surety bond for any injury that may result if the
detention or exclusion of the articles proves to be unjustified.
(2) Articles imported in violation of the rights set forth in
section 905 are subject to seizure and forfeiture in the same
manner as property imported in violation of the customs laws. Any
such forfeited articles shall be destroyed as directed by the
Secretary of the Treasury or the court, as the case may be, except
that the articles may be returned to the country of export whenever
it is shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury
that the importer had no reasonable grounds for believing that his
or her acts constituted a violation of the law.
-SOURCE-
(Added Pub. L. 98-620, title III, Sec. 302, Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat.
3352; amended Pub. L. 101-553, Sec. 2(b)(1), Nov. 15, 1990, 104
Stat. 2750; Pub. L. 105-80, Sec. 12(a)(23), Nov. 13, 1997, 111
Stat. 1535.)
-REFTEXT-
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, referred to in subsec.
(b)(2), are set out in the Appendix to Title 28, Judiciary and
Judicial Procedure.
Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, referred to in subsec.
(c)(1)(A), is classified to section 1337 of Title 19, Customs
Duties.
The customs laws, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), are classified
generally to Title 19.
-MISC2-
AMENDMENTS
1997 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105-80 substituted ''As used'' for
''as used'' in second sentence.
1990 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101-553 inserted sentences at end
defining ''any person'' and providing that any State and any
instrumentality, officer, or employee be subject to the provisions
of this chapter in the same manner and to the same extent as any
nongovernmental entity.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 101-553 effective with respect to violations
that occur on or after Nov. 15, 1990, see section 3 of Pub. L.
101-553, set out as a note under section 501 of this title.
-SECREF-
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 908, 911, 913 of this
title.
« 17 USC Sec. 909 | Index | 17 USC Sec. 911 »
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