Title 17 — CopyrightsRelease 119-73
§603 Importation prohibitions: Enforcement and disposition of excluded articles
Title 17 › Chapter CHAPTER 6— - IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION › § 603
Summary
The Secretary of the Treasury and the U.S. Postal Service must create rules to enforce the ban on importing certain copyrighted goods. Those rules can make someone who wants to stop imports get a court order or show proof that their copyright is valid and the import would break the ban. The rules can also require a bond in case the exclusion was wrong. Goods imported against the ban can be seized, kept by the government, and destroyed as the Treasury or a court orders.
Full Legal Text
Title 17, §603
Copyrights — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(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 may require, as a condition for the exclusion of articles under section 602—
(1)that the person seeking exclusion obtain a court order enjoining importation of the articles; or
(2)that the person seeking exclusion furnish proof, of a specified nature and in accordance with prescribed procedures, that the copyright in which such person claims an interest is valid and that the importation would violate the prohibition in section 602; the person seeking exclusion may also be required to post a surety bond for any injury that may result if the detention or exclusion of the articles proves to be unjustified.
(c)Articles imported in violation of the importation prohibitions of this title are subject to seizure and forfeiture in the same manner as property imported in violation of the customs revenue laws. Forfeited articles shall be destroyed as directed by the Secretary of the Treasury or the court, as the case may be.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
house report no. 94–1476
The importation prohibitions of both section 601 and 602 would be enforced under section 603, which is similar to section 109 of the statute now in effect [section 109 of former title 17]. Subsection (a) would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Postal Service to make
Regulations
for this purpose, and subsection (c) provides for the disposition of excluded articles. Subsection (b) of section 603 deals only with the prohibition against importation of “piratical” copies or phonorecords, and is aimed at solving problems that have arisen under the present statute. Since the United States Customs Service is often in no position to make determinations as to whether particular articles are “piratical,” section 603(b) would permit the Customs
Regulations
to require the person seeking exclusion either to obtain a court order enjoining importation, or to furnish proof of his claim and to post bond.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1996—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–153 substituted a period at end for “; however, 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 law.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
17 U.S.C. § 603
Title 17 — Copyrights
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73